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THE  EGYPTIAN  MYSTERIES 


THEURGIA  L 

OR 

THE  EGYPTIAN  MYSTERIES 

By  IAMBLICHOS 

Reply  of  Abammon,  the  Teacher 

TO 

The  Letter  of  Porphyry  to  Anebo 

TOGETHER    WITH 

Solutions  of  the  Questions  Therein  Contained 


TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  GREEK 

BY 

ALEXANDER  WILDER,  M.  D.  F.  A.  S. 


The  aim  is  to  express   "the  original,   the    whole    original,    and  nothing 
but  the  original,  and  withal  good  readable    English" 


GREENWICH,   CONN. 

THE  AMERICA  SCHOOL  OF  METAPHYSICS 


Copyright,  1915,  by 
THE  AMERICAN  SCHOOL  OF  METAPHYSICS 


Entered  at  Stationers'  Halis 
London,  England. 


All  Rights  Reserved. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  LETTER  OF  PORPHYRY  TO  ANEBO 9 

II.  REPLY   OF  ABAMMON 25 

III.  THE    SUPERIOR    RACES 41 

IV.  RITES,  SYMBOLS   AND   OFFERINGS 55 

V.     THE     SUPERIOR    RACES     AND     THEIR    MANI- 
FESTATIONS      79 

VI.  THE  ORDER  EXHIBITED  AT  THE  RITES 93 

VII.  ORIGIN   OF   THE   ART   OF   DIVINATION 107 

VIII.  THE   DIVINING   ART   UNIVERSAL 131 

IX.  DEMONS  151 

X.  CONCERNING   THE   POWERS   INVOKED 171 

XL  THE  QUESTION  STATED 187 

XII.  NOTIONS    OF   PRIESTS    CRITICIZED 195 

XIII.  CONCERNING  THE  MYSTIC  RITES 215 

XIV.  CONDITIONS    FOR    SUCCESSFUL   RESULTS 229 

XV.  ORIGIN  OF  EGYPTIAN  SYMBOLISM 239 

XVI.     QUESTIONS  PROPOSED 251 

XVII.     THE  PERSONAL  DEMON 265 

XVIII.     EUD^EMONIA,    OR  THE   TRUE   SUCCESS 277 

VALEDICTORY 283 


I 

LETTER  OF  PORPHYRY  TO  ANEBO 


THE  EGYPTIAN  MYSTERIES 

BY  IAMBLICHOS 

TRANSLATED  ANEW  AND  ANNOTATED 

BY  ALEXANDER  WILDER,   M.D.,  F.A.S.* 
CHAPTER  I 

LETTER  OF  PORPHYRY  TO  ANEBO 
Porphyry  to  the  Prophet  Anebo.f    Greeting. 


*The  aim  is  to  express  "the  original,  the  whole  original  and  nothing 
but  the  original,  and  withal  good,  readable  English."  A.  W. 

fPorphyry,  it  is  well  known,  was  a  distinguished  scholar,  and  the 
foremost  writer  in  the  later  Platonic  School.  He  was  a  native  of  Tyre, 
and  his  name  Molech,  or  King,  was  rendered  by  Longinus  into  noqyvQioq 
Porphurios,  denoting  the  royal  purple,  as  a  proper  equivalent.  He 
was  a  disciple  of  Plotinos,  who  had  broadened  the  field  of  philosophic 
study  till  it  included  the  "Wisdom  of  the  East."  In  personal  habits  he 
followed  the  Pythagorean  discipline.  He  was  a  severe  critic  of  the 
Gnostic  beliefs  then  current,  and  he  evidently  included  with  them  also 
the  new  Christian  faith.  His  mysticism  was  spiritual  and  contemplative, 
and  he  regarded  the  ceremonial  rites  of  the  Egyptian  theurgy  with  dis- 
trust. He  favored  Mithraism,  which  prevailed  in  Asia,  while  Iamblichos 
belonged  rather  to  the  cult  of  Serapis,  which  was  the  State  religion  of 

Egypt. 

Of  Anebo  we  know  little.  He  is  addressed  as  an  Egyptian  priest,  and 
his  name  is  that  of  Anabu  or  Anubis,  the  Egyptian  psyxhopompos  and 
patron  of  sacred  literature.  He  was  a  "prophet"  hen  niter  or  servant 
of  divinity,  and  expounder  of  the  oracles:  and  Porphyry  himself  an 
"epoptes"  or  initiated  person,  asks  him  accordingly  to  explain  the  Egyp- 
tian theosophic  doctrines  respecting  the  divine  beings,  rites  and  religious 

faith. 

9 


10  THE  EGYPTIAN  MYSTERIES 

I  will  begin  this  friendly  correspondence  with  thee  with  a 
view  to  learning  what  is  believed  in  respect  to  the  gods  and 
good  daemons  and  likewise  the  various  philosophic  speculations 
in  regard  to  them.  Very  many  things  have  been  set  forth  con- 
cerning these  subjects  by  the  (Grecian)  philosophers,  but  they 
for  the  most  part  have  derived  the  substance  of  their  belief 
from  conjecture. 


I 

THE  GODS  AND  THEIR  PECULIARITIES 

In  the  first  place,  therefore,  it  is  to  be  taken  for  granted 
that  there  are  gods.  I  ask  then :  what  are  the  peculiarities  of 
the  superior  races,  by  which  they  are  differentiated  from  each 
other?  Are  we  to  suppose  the  cause  of  the  distinction  to  be 
their  energies  or  their  passive  motions,  or  things  consequent : 
or  is  it  a  classification  established  by  difference  of  bodies — the 
gods  being  distinguished  by  aetherial  bodies,  the  daemons  by 
aerial  bodies,  and  souls  by  bodies  pertaining  to  the  earth? 

As  the  gods  dwell  in  heaven  only,  I  ask  therefore,  why  are 
invocations  at  the  Theurgic  Rites  directed  to  them  as  being  of 
the  Earth  and  Underworld?  How  is  it  that  although  possess- 
ing power  unlimited,  undivided,  and  unrestricted,  some  of  them 
are  mentioned  as  being  of  the  water  and  of  the  atmosphere, 
and  that  others  are  allotted  by  definite  limitations  to  different 
places  and  to  distinct  parts  of  bodies?  If  they  are  actually 
separated  by  circumscribed  limitations  of  parts,  and  accord- 
ing to  diversities  of  places  and  subject-bodies,  how  will  there 
be  any  union  of  them  one  to  another? 

How  can  the  Theosophers*  consider  them  as  impression- 
able?   For  it  is  said  that  on  this  account  phallic  images  are 


*The  Theosophers  were  regarded  as  learned  in  the  arcane  knowledge, 
and  especially  in  Theurgy.  Iamblichos  appears  to  have  adopted  these 
Rites  and  usages  from  the  Egyptian  worship,  including  with  them  a 
philosophic  groundwork  from  the  Platonic  doctrines. 


LETTER  OF  TORPHYBY  TO  ANEBO  11 

set  up  and  that  immodest  language  is  used  at  the  Rites?*  Cer- 
tainly if  they  are  impassive  and  unimpressionable  the  invoca- 
tions of  the  gods,  announcing  favorable  inclinations,  propitia- 
tions of  their  anger  and  expiatory  sacrifices,  and  still  further 
what  are  called  " necessities  of  the  gods,"  will  be  utterly  use- 
less. For  that  which  is  impassive  is  not  to  be  charmed  or 
forced t  or  constrained  by  necessity. 

Why,  then,  are  many  things  performed  to  them  in  the  Sa- 
cred Rites,  as  to  impressionable  beings?  The  invocations  are 
made  as  to  gods  that  are  impressionable  beings :  so  that  it  is 
implied  that  not  the  daemons  only  are  impressionable,  but  the 
gods  likewise,  as  was  declared  in  Homer: 

''Even  the  gods  themselves  are  yielding." 

Suppose,  then,  we  say,  as  certain  individuals  have  affirmed, 
that  the  gods  are  pure  mental  essences  and  that  the  daemons 
are  psychic  beings  participating  of  mind. J  The  fact  remains, 
nevertheless,  that  the  pure  mental  essences  are  not  to  be 
charmed  or  mingled  with  things  of  sense,  and  that  the  suppli- 


*The  use  of  images  and  emblems  of  a  sacred  character  to  typify 
divine  power  and  energy  is  universal.  Somewhat  of  the  divine  was  sup- 
posed to  inhere  in  them.  The  "images"  and  asheras  or  "groves"  men- 
tioned in  the  Bible  were  of  this  character.  So  was  the  "idol  in  a  grove," 
made  by  Queen  Maachah,  as  well  as  the  simulacrums  which,  as  Herodotus 
states,  the  Egyptian  women  carried  at  the  festivals. 

t Compare  Gospel  according  to  Matthew,  XI,  12.  "From  the  days  of 
John  the  Baptist  till  now,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  forced,  and  they 
who  are  violent  seize  it." 

JXenokrates,  who  was  a  disciple  of  Plato,  himself  taught  these  doc- 
trines. He  considered  the  heavens  as  divine  and  that  the  substance  of 
the  divine  nature  was  mind  pure  and  absolute.  He  also  described  the 
stars  as  "visible  divinities."  The  daemons  were  depicted  as  of  a  psychic 
nature,  subordinate  to  that  of  the  gods,  and  therefore  subject  to  emotion 
and  perturbation  like  human  beings,  while  at  the  same  time  sharing  in 
a  degree  in  the  power  and  intelligence  of  the  gods. 


12  THE  EGYPTIAN   MYSTERIES 

cations  which  are  offered  are  entirely  foreign  to  this  purity  of 
mental  substance.*  But  on  the  other  hand  the  things  that  are 
offered  are  offered  as  to  sensitive  and  psychic  natures. 

Are  gods,  then,  separated  from  daemons  by  the  distinction 
of  bodied  and  unbodied?  If,  however,  only  the  gods  are  in- 
corporeal, how  shall  the  Sun,  the  Moon,  and  the  visible  lumina- 
ries in  the  sky  be  accounted  as  gods  f 

How  is  it  that  some  of  them  are  givers  of  good  and  others 
bring  evil? 

What  is  the  bond  of  union  that  connects  the  divinities  in 
the  sky  that  have  bodies  with  the  gods  that  are  unbodied? 

The  gods  that  are  visible  (in  the  sky)  being  included  in 
the  same  category  with  the  invisible,  what  distinguishes  the 
daemons  from  the  visible,  and  likewise  the  invisible,  gods? 


II 

THE  SUPERIOR  RACES  AND  THEIR  MANIFESTATIONS 

In  what  does  a  daemon  differ  from  a  hero  or  half -god  or 
from  a  soul  If    Is  it  in  essence,  in  power,  or  in  energy  ?t 


*Greek,  vdog  the  mind  or  "rational  soul,"  the  essence  or  principle 
of  intelligence  which  transcends  the  understanding  or  reasoning  faculty, 
and  is  capable  of  knowing  truth  intuitively  and  instinctively  from  being 
itself  of  divine  origin. 

f  Here  Porphyry  has  given  an  ancient  classification  of  spiritual  beings 
into  four  orders,  the  gods,  daemons  or  guardians,  the  heroes  or  half-gods, 
and  souls.  There  were  other  distinctions  in  the  Eastern  countries,  and 
we  find  Abammon,  the  Teacher,  adding  to  these  the  archangels,  angels 
and  archons  of  both  the  higher  and  lower  nature.  These  were  named 
in  several  of  the  Gnostic  categories  that  were  extant  at  that  period. 
"We  have  no  conflict  with  blood  and  flesh,"  says  the  Christian  apostle, 
"but  with  archonates,  authorities,  the  world-rulers  of  this  dark  region, 
and  spiritual  forces  of  evil  in  the  upper  heavens." 

JBy  "essence"  is  signified  the  underlying  principle  of  being;  by 
"power"  the  intermediate  agency;  and  by  "energy"  the  operative  fac- 
ulty which  enables  actual  results. 


ORACLES  AND  DIVINATION  13 

What  is  the  token  (at  the  Sacred  Rites)  of  the  presence  of 
a  god  or  an  angel,  or  an  archangel,  or  a  daemon,  or  of  some 
archon,  or  a  soul  ?  For  it  is  a  common  thing  with  the  gods  and 
daemons  alike,  and  with  all  the  superior  races,  to  speak  boast- 
fully and  to  project  an  unreal  image  into  view.*  Hence  the 
race  of  the  gods  is  thus  made  to  seem  to  be  in  no  respect  supe- 
rior to  that  of  the  daemons. 

It  is  also  acknowledged  that  ignorance  and  delusion  in  re- 
spect to  the  gods  is  irreligiousness  and  impurity,  and  that  the 
superior  knowledge  in  respect  to  them  is  holy  and  helpful :  the 
former  being  the  darkness  of  ignorance  in  regard  to  the  things 
revered  and  beautiful,  and  the  latter  the  light  of  knowledge. 
The  former  condition  will  cause  human  beings  to  be  beset 
with  every  form  of  evil  through  ignorance  and  recklessness, t 
but  the  latter  is  the  source  of  everything  beneficial. 

Ill 

ORACLES  AND  DIVINATION 

What  is  it  that  takes  place  in  divination?  For  example, 
when  we  are  asleep,  we  often  come,  through  dreams,  to  a  per- 
ception of  things  that  are  about  to  occur.  We  are  not  in  an 
ecstasy  full  of  commotion,  for  the  body  lies  at  rest,  yet  we  do 
not  ourselves  apprehend  these  things  as  clearly  as  when  we  are 
awake. 


*This  inquiry  in  regard  to  the  apparitions  which  the  candidates  be- 
held at  the  initiation  is  made  plainer  by  Proklos:  "In  the  most  sacred 
stages  of  the  Perfective  Kites,"  says  he,  "before  the  gods  come  into  view, 
there  appear  intrusive  figures  of  demons  of  the  Underworld,  to  draw 
away  the  attention  of  the  candidate  from  the  spotless  Good  to  the  grosa 
and  material."  It  may  be  pertinent  to  add  that  in  the  several  Grottoea 
or  Halls  of  Initiation  there  was  machinery  ingeniously  constructed  for 
the  purpose  of  representing  divine  and  other  personages.  See  The  Epi- 
curean, by  Thomas  Moore,  and  The  Great  Dionysiak  Myth,  by  Robert 
Brown,  Jr.,  VI,  2,  3. 

f"I  do  not  see  any  sin  in  the  world,"  says  George  Sand,  "but  I  eee 
a  great  deal  of  ignorance." 


14  THE  EGYPTIAN  MYSTERIES 

In  like  manner  many  also  come  to  a  perception  of  the  fu- 
ture through  enthusiastic  rapture  and  a  divine  impulse,  when 
at  the  same  time  so  thoroughly  awake  as  to  have  the  senses  in 
full  activity.  Nevertheless,  they  by  no  means  follow  the  mat- 
ter closely,  or  at  least  they  do  not  attend  to  it  as  closely  as 
when  in  their  ordinary  condition.  So,  also,  certain  others  of 
these  ecstatics  become  entheast  or  inspired  when  they  hear 
cymbals,  drums,  or  some  choral  chant;  as  for  example,  those 
who  are  engaged  in  the  Korybantic  Rites,  those  who  are  pos- 
sessed at  the  Sabazian  festivals,  and  those  who  are  celebrating 
the  Rites  of  the  Divine  Mother.  Others,  also,  are  inspired  when 
drinking  water,  like  the  priest  of  the  Klarian  Apollo  at  Kolo- 
phon;  others  when  sitting  over  cavities  in  the  earth,  like  the 
women  who  deliver  oracles  at  Delphi ;  others  when  affected  by 
vapor  from  the  water,  like  the  prophetesses  at  Branchidae;  and 
others  when  standing  in  indented  marks  like  those  who  have 
been  filled  from  an  imperceptible  inflowing  of  the  divine  ple- 
rome.  Others  who  understand  themselves  in  other  respects  be- 
come inspired  through  the  Fancy:  some  taking  darkness  as 
accessory,  others  employing  certain  potions,  and  others  de- 
pending on  singing  and  magic  figures.  Some  are  affected  by 
means  of  water,  others  by  gazing  on  a  wall,  others  by  the 
hypethral  air,  and  others  by  the  sun  or  in  some  other  of  the 
heavenly  luminaries.  Some  have  likewise  established  the  tech- 
nique of  searching  the  future  by  means  of  entrails,  birds  and 
stars. 

What,  I  ask,  is  the  nature  of  divination,  and  what  is  its 
peculiar  character?  The  diviners  all  say  that  they  arrive  at 
the  foreknowledge  of  the  future  through  gods  or  daemons,  and 
that  it  is  not  possible  for  others  to  have  any  inkling  of  it  only 
those  who  have  command  over  the  things  to  be.  I  dispute, 
therefore,  whether  the  divine  power  is  brought  down  to  such 
subserviency  to  human  beings  as,  for  instance,  not  to  hold 
aloof  from  any  who  are  diviners  with  barley-meal. 

In  regard,  however,  to  the  origins  of  the  oracular  art,  it  is 
to  be  doubted  whether  a  god,  or  angel,  or  daemon,  or  some  other 
such  being,  is  present  at  the  Manifestations,*  or  at  the  divina- 

*Greek,  ijctcpaveia  epiphany — an  apparition  or  manifestation,  such  as 
was  exhibited  in  mystic  and  theurgic  rites. 


ORACLES  AND  DIVINATION  15 

tions,  or  at  any  other  of  the  Sacred  Performances,  as  having 
been  drawn  thither  through  you  by  the  necessities  created  by 
the  invocations. 

Some  are  of  opinion  that  the  soul  itself  both  utters  and 
imagines  these  things,  and  that  there  are  similar  conditions 
of  it  which  have  been  produced  from  little  sparks;  others,  that 
there  is  a  certain  mingled  form  of  substance  produced  from 
our  own  soul  and  from  the  divine  in  breathing;  others,  that 
the  soul,  through  such  activities,  generates  from  itself  a  fac- 
ulty of  Imagination  in  regard  to  the  future,  or  else  that  the 
emanations  from  the  realm  of  matter  bring  daemons  into  exist- 
ence through  their  inherent  forces,  especially  when  the  emana- 
tions are  derived  from  animals. 

These  conjectures  are  put  forth  for  the  following  state- 
ments : 

1.  That  during  sleep,  when  we  are  not  engaged  with  any- 
thing, we  sometimes  chance  to  obtain  perception  of  the  future. 

2.  That  likewise,  an  evidence  that  a  condition  of  the  Soul 
is  a  principal  source  of  the  art  of  divining  is  shown  by  the 
facts  that  the  senses  are  held  in  check,  fumes  and  invocations 
being  employed  for  the  purpose ;  and  that  by  no  means  every- 
body, but  only  the  more  artless  and  young  persons,  are  suit- 
able for  the  purpose. 

3.  That  likewise,  ecstasy  or  alienation  of  mind  is  a  chief 
origin  of  the  divining  art ;  also  the  mania  which  occurs  in  dis- 
eases, mental  aberration,  abstinence  from  wine,  suffusions  of 
the  body,  fancies  set  in  motion  by  morbid  conditions  or  equivo- 
cal states  of  mind,  such  as  may  occur  during  abstinence  and 
ecstasy,  or  apparitions  got  up  by  technical  magic* 

4.  That  both  the  realm  of  Nature,  Art,  and  the  feeling  in 
things  of  common  throughout  the  universe,  as  of  the  parts  in 
one  animal,  contain  foreshadowings  of  certain  things  with  ref- 
erence to  others.  Moreover,  there  are  bodies  so  constituted  as 
to  be  a  forewarning  from  some  to  others.  Examples  of  this 
kind  are  manifest  by  the  things  done,  namely :  that  they  who 
make  the  invocations  (at  the  Rites)  carry  stones  and  herbs,  tie 


*Goeteia,  or  ''black  magic." 


16  THE  EGYPTIAN   MYSTERIES 

sacred  knots  and  unloose  them,  open  places  that  are  locked,  and 
change  the  purposes  of  individuals  hy  whom  they  are  enter- 
tained, so  that  from  being  paltry  they  are  made  worthy.  They 
also  who  are  able  to  reproduce  the  mystic  figures  are  not  to  be 
held  in  low  esteem.  For  they  watch  the  course  of  the  heavenly 
bodies,  and  tell  from  the  position  and  relation  of  one  with  an- 
other whether  the  oracular  announcements  of  the  ruling  planet 
will  be  false  or  true,  or  whether  the  rites  which  have  been  per- 
formed will  be  to  no  purpose,  or  will  be  expressive  or  arcane, 
although  no  god  or  daemon  is  drawn  down  to  them. 

There  are  some,  however,  who  suppose  there  is  likewise,  the 
subject-race  of  a  tricky  nature,  artful,  and  assuming  all  shapes, 
turning  many  ways,  that  personates  gods  and  demons  and 
souls  of  the  dead  like  actors  on  the  stage;  and  that  through 
these  everything  that  seems  to  be  good  or  bad  is  possible. 
They  are  led  to  form  this  judgment  because  these  subject- 
spirits  are  not  able  to  contribute  anything  really  beneficial  as 
relates  to  the  soul,  nor  even  to  perceive  such  things;  but  on 
the  other  hand,  they  ill  treat,  deride,  and  often  impede  those 
who  are  returning  to  virtue. 

They  are  likewise  full  of  conceit,  and  take  delight  in  vapors 
and  sacrifices. 

5.  Because  the  begging  priest  with  open  mouth  attempts  in 
many  ways  to  raise  our  expectations.* 

IV 

THE  INVOCATIONS  OP  THE  THEURGIC  RITES 

It  perplexes  me  greatly  to  form  a  conception  how  they  who 
are  invoked  as  superior  beings  are  likewise  commanded  like 

*The  agurtes  or  begging  priest  generally  belonged  to  the  worship  of 
Khea  or  Kybele,  the  Mother.  He  is  frequently  depicted  in  a  most  un- 
favorable light.  Apuleius  speaks  of  a  company  of  these  emasculate 
priests  in  the  eighth  book  of  the  Metamorphoses.  They  are  also  described 
in  the  Republic  of  Plato :  "Agurtce  and  Mantics  frequent  the  houses  of 
the  rich  and  persuade  them  that  they  possess  a  power  granted  by  the 
gods  to  expiate,  by  sacrifices  and  chants  any  unjust  act  that  has  been 
committed  and  that  they  induce  the  gods  by  blandishments  and  magic 
rites  to  help  them.  They  collected  money  in  this  way,  and  they  also 
followed  the  selling  of  nostrums  and  telling  of  fortunes." 


CONDITIONS  17 

inferiors;  also  that  they  require  the  worshipper  to  be  just, 
although  when  entreated,  they  themselves  consent  to  perform 
unjust  acts.  They  will  not  hearken  to  the  person  who  is  invok- 
ing them  if  he  is  not  pure  from  sexual  contamination,  yet  they 
themselves  do  not  hesitate  to  lead  chance  individuals  into 
unlawful  sexual  relations. 

V 

SACRIFICES  AND  PRAYERS 

(I  am  likewise  in  doubt  in  regard  to  the  sacrifices,  what 
utility  or  power  they  possess  in  the  world  and  with  the  gods, 
and  for  what  reason  they  are  performed,  appropriate  for  the 
beings  thus  honored  and  advantageously  for  the  persons  who 
present  the  gifts.*) 

The  gods  also  require  that  the  interpreters  of  the  oracles 
observe  strict  abstinence  from  animal  substances,  in  order  that 
they  may  not  be  made  impure  by  the  fumes  from  the  bodies ; 
yet  they  themselves  are  allured  most  of  all  by  the  fumes  of  the 
sacrifices  of  animals. 

VI 

CONDITIONS  FOR  SUCCESSFUL  RESULTS 

It  is  also  required  that  the  Beholderf  must  be  pure  from  the 


*This  paragraph  is  taken  from  Part  V,  Chapter  I,  and  is  not  found 
in  the  text  of  the  Letter  as  we  have  it.  It  is  quoted  there  as  belonging  in 
this  place.  In  the  original  Greek  text  the  preceding  paragraph  appears 
in  unbroken  connection  with  the  one  which  follows,  and  in  dividing  them 
we  find  it  necessary  to  add  a  clause,  to  introduce  the  subject. 

f Greek,  ijtdjtzijg  an  epopt,  seer,  or  beholder;  a  person  admitted  to 
the  higher  degree  of  initiation.  "The  Perfective  Eite  leads  the  way  as 
the  muesis  or  mystic  initiation,"  says  Proklos,  "and  after  that  is  the 
epopteia  or  beholding."  Theon  describes  it  as  three  degrees — "the  Puri- 
fication, Initiation  and  Beholding  of  the  Divine  Vision."  Mr.  Robert 
Brown,  Jr.,  explains  the  last  of  these  very  fully.  "This  is  the  Autopeia 
or  Personal  Inspection,  the  Crown  of  Mysteries,  the  Epopteia  or  Divine 
Beholding,  and  he  becomes  an  Epoptes  or  Contemplator."  (Great 
Diomjsiak  Myth,  VI,  2,  3.) 

As  the  Autoptic  Visions  are  the  principal  topic  in  this  work,  the  term 
"Beholder  "  is  adopted  uniformly  for  several  words  of  the  same  import. 


18  THE  EGYPTIAN  MYSTERIES 

contact  of  anything  dead,  and  yet  the  rites  employed  to  bring 
the  gods  hither,  many  of  them,  are  made  effective  through 
dead  animals. 

What,  then,  is  more  preposterous  than  these  things — that 
a  human  being,  inferior  in  dignity,  should  make  use  of  threats, 
not  to  a  daemon  or  soul  of  some  dead  person,  but  to  the  Sun- 
King  himself,  or  to  the  Moon,  or  some  one  of  the  divine  ones  in 
the  sky,  himself  uttering  falsehood  in  order  that  they  may  be 
caused  to  speak  the  truth?  For  the  declaration  that  he  will 
assail  the  sky,  that  he  will  reveal  to  view  the  Arcana  of  Isis, 
that  he  will  expose  to  public  gaze  the  ineffable  symbol  in  the 
innermost  sanctuary,  that  he  will  stop  the  Baris;  that,  like 
Typhon,  he  will  scatter  the  limbs  of  Osiris,  or  do  something  of 
a  similar  character,  what  is  it  but  an  extravagant  absurdity, 
threatening  what  he  neither  knows  how  nor  is  able  to  perform  f 
What  dejection  of  spirit  does  it  not  produce  in  those  who,  like 
children,  destitute  of  intelligence,  are  dismayed  by  groundless 
fear  and  terrified  by  these  false  alarms? 

And  yet  Chairemon,  the  Scribe  of  the  Temple,  records  these 
things  as  current  discourse  among  the  Egyptian  priests.*  It 
is  also  said  that  these  threats,  and  others  of  like  tenor,  are 
very  violent. 

VII 

SACRED  NAMES  AND  SYMBOLIC  EXPRESSIONS 

The  Prayers  also :  What  do  they  mean  when  they  speak  of 
the  one  coming  forth  to  light  from  the  slime,  sitting  on  the 
Lotus-blossom,  sailing  in  a  boat,  changing  forms  according  to 


*As  the  term  "Egyptian"  is  applied  only  in  this  work  to  individuals 
of  sacerdotal  rank,  the  designation  of  "  priest"  is  added.  The  Hiero- 
grammateus,  or  Scribe  of  the  Temple,  was  a  priest  of  the  lower  class, 
and  his  duty  was  to  keep  the  records,  teach  students  the  religious  obser- 
vances, and  take  care  that  they  were  duly  obedient.  The  prophets  were 
superior  to  the  Scribes.  The  Temples  of  Egypt,  like  those  of  Babylonia, 
were  seminaries  for  instruction,  and  all  departments  of  Science  and  phil- 
osophy were  included  in  their  teachings  as  being  Sacred  Learning. 


THE  FIEST  CAUSE  19 

the  season,  and  assuming  a  shape  according  to  the  Signs  of 
the  Zodiac?  For  so  this  is  said  to  be  seen  at  the  Autopsias; 
and  they  unwittingly  attribute  to  the  divinity  a  peculiar  inci- 
dent of  their  own  imagination.  If,  however,  these  expressions 
are  uttered  figuratively,  and  are  symbolic  representations  of 
his  forces,  let  them  tell  the  interpretation  of  the  symbols.  For 
it  is  plain  that  if  they  denote  the  condition  of  the  Sun,  as  in 
eclipses,  they  would  be  seen  by  every  one  who  looked  toward 
it  intently. 

Why,  also,  are  terms  preferred  that  are  unintelligible,  and 
of  those  that  are  unintelligible  why  are  foreign  ones  preferred 
instead  of  those  of  our  own  language?  For  if  the  one  who 
hears  gives  attention  to  the  signification  it  is  enough  that  the 
concept  remains  the'same,  whatever  the  term  may  be.  For  the 
divinity  that  is  invoked  is  possibly  not  Egyptian  in  race ;  and 
if  he  is  Egyptian,  he  is  far  from  making  use  of  Egyptian 
speech,  or  indeed  of  any  human  language  at  all.  Either  these 
are  all  artful  contrivances  of  jugglers,  and  disguises  having 
their  origin  in  the  passive  conditions  induced  about  us  through 
being  attributed  to  the  divine  agency,  or  we  have  left  unnoticed 
conceptions  of  the  divine  nature  that  are  contrary  to  what  it  is. 

VIII 

THE    FIRST  CAUSE 

I  desire  you  further  to  declare  plainly  to  me  what  the  Egyp- 
tian Theosophers  believe  the  First  Cause  to  be ;  whether  Mind, 
or  above  mind ;  and  whether  one  alone,  or  subsisting  with  an- 
other or  with  several  others ;  whether  unbodied  or  embodied, 
whether  the  very  same  as  the  Creator  of  the  Universe  (Dem- 
iurgos)  or  prior  to  the  Creator;  also  whether  they  likewise 
have  knowledge  respecting  Primal  Matter;*  or  of  what  nature 
the  first  bodies  were ;  and  whether  the  Primal  Matter  was  un- 
originated,  or  was  generated.    For  Chairemon  and  the  others 

*Greek,  vArj  hule;  a  term  first  adopted  by  Aristotle  to  signify  the 
objective,  negative  or  passive  element  upon  which  the  Creative  energy 
operates.  Plato  named  it  the  "receptacle,"  as  containing  the  creative 
energy  and  making  it  effective. 


20  THE  EGYPTIAN  MYSTERIES 

hold  that  there  is  not  anything  else  prior  to  the  worlds  which 
we  behold.  At  the  beginning  of  their  discourses  they  adopt  the 
divinities  of  the  Egyptians,  but  no  other  gods,  except  those 
called  Planets,  those  that  make  up  the  Zodiac  and  such  as  rise 
with  these,  and  likewise  those  divided  into  decans,  those  which 
indicate  nativities,  and  those  which  are  called  the  Mighty  Lead- 
ers. The  names  of  these  are  preserved  in  the  Almanacs,  to- 
gether with  their  routine  of  changes,  their  risings  and  settings, 
and  their  signifying  of  future  events.  For  these  men  perceived 
that  the  things  which  were  said  respecting  the  Sun-God  as  the 
Demiurgos,  or  Creator  of  the  Universe,  and  concerning  Osiris 
and  Isis,  and  all  the  Sacred  Legends,  may  be  interpreted  as 
relating  to  the  stars,  their  phases,  occultations,  and  revolutions 
in  their  orbits,  or  else  to  the  increase  and  decrease  of  the  Moon, 
the  course  of  the  Sun,  the  vault  of  the  sky  as  seen  by  night  or 
by  day,  or  the  river  Nile,  and,  in  short,  they  explain  everything 
as  relating  to  natural  objects,  and  nothing  as  having  reference 
to  incorporeal  and  living  essences.* 

More  of  them  likewise  attribute  to  motion  of  the  stars  what- 
ever may  relate  to  us.  They  bind  everything,  I  know  not  how, 
in  the  indissoluble  bonds  of  necessity,  which  they  term  Fate, 
or  allotment ;  and  they  also  connect  everything  with  those  gods 
whom  they  worship  in  temples  and  with  carved  images  and 
other  objects,  as  being  the  only  unbinders  of  Fate. 


IX 

NATIVITIES  AND  GUARDIAN   DEMONS 

The  next  thing  to  be  learned  relates  to  the  peculiar  demon 


*  Plutarch  comments  somewhat  severely  upon  this  mode  of  interpre- 
tation. In  his  treatise  On  Isis  and  Osiris  he  remarks  that  some  individ- 
uals do  not  scruple  to  say  that  Osiris  is  the  Sun,  Isis  no  other  than  the 
Moon,  and  that  Typhon  is  fire,  or  drouth,  or  the  Ocean.  But  he  adds 
in  rebuttal:  "No  one  can  rationally  imagine  that  these  objects  can  be 
gods  in  themselves ;  for  nothing  can  be  a  god  that  is  either  without  soul, 
or  under  the  power  of  natural  objects."  He  also  remarks  that  "there  is 
an  excellent  saying  among  philosophers,  that  they  who  have  not  learned 
the  true  sense  of  words  will  also  mistake  in  the  things  that  are  meant." 


NATIVITIES  AND  GUAKDIAN  DEMONS  21 

or  guardian  spirit — how  the  Lord  of  the  House*  assigns  it, 
according  to  what  purpose  or  what  quality  of  emanation  or  life 
or  power  comes  from  it  to  us,  whether  it  really  exists  or  does 
not  exist,  and  whether  it  is  impossible  or  possible  actually  to 
find  the  Lord  of  the  House.  Certainly,  if  it  is  possible,  then 
the  person  has  learned  the  scheme  of  his  nativity ;  knowing  his 
own  guardian  demon,  is  liberated  from  fate,  is  truly  favored 
by  divinity.  Nevertheless,  the  rules  for  casting  nativities  are 
countless,  and  beyond  comprehension.  Moreover,  it  is  impos- 
sible for  expertness  in  astral  observations  to  amount  to  an 
actual  knowing,  for  there  is  great  disagreement  in  relation  to 
it,  and  Chairemon,  as  well  as  many  others,  have  spoken  against 
it.  Hence  the  assumption  of  a  Lord  of  the  House  (or  Lords 
of  the  House,  if  there  are  more  than  one)  pertaining  to  a  nativ- 
ity is  almost  confessed  by  astrologers  themselves  to  be  beyond 
absolute  proving;  and  yet  it  is  from  this  assumption,  they 
say,  that  the  ascertaining  of  the  person's  own  personal  demon 
is  possible. 

But  further,  I  wish  to  be  informed  whether  our  personal 
demon  presides  over  some  specific  one  of  the  regions  within  us. 
For  it  seems  to  be  believed  by  some  persons  that  there  are 
demons  allotted  to  specific  departments  of  the  body — one  over 
the  health,  one  over  the  figure,  and  another  over  the  bodily 
habits,  forming  a  bond  of  union  among  them ;  and  that  one  is 
placed  as  superior  over  all  of  them  in  common.  And  further, 
they  suppose  that  there  is  one  demon  guardian  of  the  body, 
another  of  the  soul,  and  another  of  the  superior  mind;t  also 
that  some  demons  are  good  and  others  bad. 

I  am  in  doubt,  however,  whether  our  particular  demon  may 
not  be  a  special  part  of  the  soul ;  and  hence  he  who  has  a  mind 
imbued  with  good  sense  would  be  the  truly  favored  one. 


*Greek,  oly.o&eanoxrjq  Hebrew,  Baal  Zebvl.  In  astrology  a  "house" 
is  a  twelfth  part  of  the  sky  as  marked  out  for  the  purpose  of  horoscopes. 
Every  sign  of  the  Zodiac  thus  had  a  "house,"  which  a  planet  or  planetary 
genius  was  considered  as  occupying,  and  thence  ruling  the  days  and 
events  of  the  month  to  which  it  belonged. 

f  Compare  First  Epistle  of  Paul  to  the  Thessalonians,  V,  23:  "Spirit 
and  soul  and  body." 


22  THE  EGYPTIAN  MYSTERIES 

I  observe,  moreover,  that  there  is  a  twofold  worship  of  the 
personal  demon;  also,  that  some  perform  it  as  to  two  and 
others  as  to  three,  but  nevertheless  he  is  invoked  by  all  with  a 
common  form  of  invocation. 


EUD.EMONIA,   OR  TRUE   SUCCESS 

I  question,  however,  whether  there  may  not  be  some  other 
secret  path  to  true  success  which  is  afar  from  (the  Rites  of) 
the  gods.  I  doubt  whether  it  is  really  necessary  to  pay  any  re- 
gard to  the  opinions  of  individuals  in  regard  to  the  divine  en- 
dowment of  divination  and  Theurgy,  and  whether  the  Soul 
does  not  now  and  then  form  grand  conceptions.  On  the  con- 
trary, also,  there  are  other  methods  for  obtaining  premonitions 
of  what  will  take  place.  Perhaps,  also,  they  who  exercise  the 
divine  art  of  divining  may  indeed  foresee,  and  yet  they  are  not 
really  successful :  for  they  may  foresee  future  events  and  not 
know  how  to  make  use  of  the  foresight  properly  for  them- 
selves. I  desire  from  you,  therefore,  to  show  me  the  path  to 
success  and  in  what  the  essence  of  it  consists.  For  among  us 
(philosophers)  there  is  much  wrangling,  as  though  good  might 
be  derived  from  human  reasonings  by  comparison  of  views. 

If,  however,  this  part  of  the  inquiry,  the  intimate  associa- 
tion with  the  superior  race  is  passed  over  by  those  who  devised 
it,  wisdom  will  be  taught  by  them  to  trivial  purpose,  such  as 
calling  the  Divine  Mind  to  take  part  about  the  finding  of  a 
fugitive  slave,  or  a  purchase  of  land,  or,  if  it  should  so  happen, 
a  marriage  or  a  matter  of  trade.  Suppose,  however,  that  this 
subject  of  intimate  communion  with  the  Superior  race  is  not 
passed  over,  and  those  who  are  thus  in  communication  tell 
things  that  are  remarkably  true  about  different  matters,  but 
nothing  important  or  trustworthy  in  relation  to  the  true  suc- 
cess— employing  themselves  diligently  with  matters  that  are 
difficult,  but  of  no  use  to  human  beings — then  there  were 
neither  gods  nor  good  daemons  present,  but  on  the  contrary,  a 
demon  of  that  kind  called  "Vagabond,"  or  it  was  all  an  inven- 
tion of  men  or  an  air-castle  of  a  mortal  nature. 


II 

REPLY  OF  ABAMMON 
TO  LETTER  OF  PORPHYRY  TO  ANEBO 


THE  EGYPTIAN  MYSTERIES 


PART  I 

THE  GODS  AND  THEIR  PECULIARITIES 


CHAPTER    II 

REPLY  OF  ABAMMON  THE  TEACHER 
TO  THE  LETTER  OF  PORPHYRY  TO  ANEBO 


INTRODUCTION 


Hermes*,  the  patron  of  literature,  was  rightly  considered 
of  old  to  be  a  god  common  to  all  the  priests  f  and  the  one  pre- 
siding over  the  genuine  learning  relating  to  the  gods,  one 
and  the  same  among  all.  Hence  our  predecessors  were  wont 
to  ascribe  to  him  their  discoveries  in  wisdom  and  to  name  all 
their  respective  works  Books  of  Hermes. 


♦Hermes  is  here  the  same  as  the  Egyptian  divinity,  Thoth  or  Ta- 
huti,  the  god  of  learning  and  medicine.  He  was  regarded  as  the  Scribe 
or  recorder  who  registered  the  actions  of  the  dead  and  living,  so  that  they 
"were  judged  out  of  those  things  which  were  written  in  the  books."  _  He 
was  also  the  revealer  of  the  divine  will  to  men.  His  name  Tahuti  signi- 
fies "thrice  great"  or  "very  great,"  or  Trismegistos,  in  Greek. 

f  The  priests  in  Egypt  consisted  of  many  orders,  including  those  who 
performed  the  Rites,  the  learned  profession  which  included  prophets, 
philosophers,  poets,  authors,  physicians,  artists,  master  mechanics,  and 
also  embalmers  of  the  dead. 

25 


26  THE  EGYPTIAN  MYSTERIES 

If,  therefore,  we  participate  in  this  god#,  of  the  measure 
which  has  fallen  to  us  and  become  possible  to  us,  thou  dost 
well  to  propose  these  questions  in  regard  to  the  Divine  Sci- 
ences to  the  priests  as  to  friends  for  an  accurate  solution. 
Having  good  reason  therefore  for  considering  the  letter  sent 
by  thee  to  Anebo,  my  pupil,  as  having  been  written  to  myself, 
I  will  answer  thee  truly  in  regard  to  the  matters  about  which 
thou  hast  enquired.  For  it  would  not  be  becoming  that  Py- 
thagoras, Plato,  Demokritos,  Eudoxos,  and  many  others  of  the 
old  Greeks,  should  have  obtained  competent  instruction  from 
the  temple-scribes  of  their  own  timet,  but  that  thou  who  art 
contemporary  with  us,  and  having  the  same  disposition  as 
they,  should  be  turned  away  by  those  now  living  and  recog- 
nized as  public  teachers. 

Accordingly,  I  myself  engage  thus  in  the  present  discus- 
sion. Thou,  if  thou  dost  so  choose,  art  at  liberty  to  consider 
the  person  who  is  now  writing  to  thee  as  the  same  individual 
to  whom  thou  hast  sent  thy  letter.  If,  however,  it  shall  seem 
to  thee  more  proper,  then  regard  the  individual  who  is  dis- 
coursing with  thee  in  writing  to  be  one  or  some  other  prophet 


*This  form  of  expression  extends  through  this  entire  book.  Though 
hardly  familiar  to  us,  it  was  formerly  common  in  philosophic  writings. 
The  gods  being  spiritual  essences,  it  was  very  properly  considered  that 
their  worshipers  would  participate  in  their  substance  as  we  partake  of 
the  air  that  we  inhale.  In  this  way  their  powers  and  virtues  were  sup- 
posed to  be  imparted  to  the  recipients.  This  treatise  accordingly  men- 
tions the  gifts  received  by  the  persons  initiated  at  the  telestic  or  Theurgic 
Rites,  as  a  participating  of  the  gods.  The  fact  that  they  represent  or  per- 
sonify qualities  rather  than  individualities  makes  this  mode  of  speaking 
eminently  proper. 

fin  archaic  periods,  the  worship  and  literature  of  every  people  was 
exclusive.  Every  repast  being  accompanied  by  religious  ceremonies,  the 
Egyptians  would  not  eat  with  foreigners.  Aahmes  II  broke  through  this 
restriction  and  made  treaties  of  friendship  and  commerce  with  several 
Grecian  and  Ionian  States.  By  his  command,  and  at  the  instance  of 
Polykrates  of  Samos,  a  tyrant-king,  Pythagoras  was  admitted  to  instruc- 
tion at  the  temples,  and  formally  initiated  into  the  sacerdotal  caste. 
After  the  Persian  conquest  others  resorted  to  Egypt  for  similar  pur- 
poses; among  them  Plato,  Demokritos,  Archimedes,  Chrysippos, 
Euripides. 


KEPLY  OF  ABAMMON  TO  LETTER  OF  PORPHYRY   27 

of  the  Egyptians,  for  this  is  not  a  matter  worth  differing 
about.  Or,  as  I  think  still  a  better  way,  let  it  pass  unnoticed 
whether  the  person  speaking  is  of  inferior  or  superior  rank, 
and  direct  the  attention  solely  to  the  things  that  are  uttered, 
thus  arousing  the  understanding  to  eagerness  simply  as  to 
whether  that  which  is  said  be  true  or  false. 

In  the  first  place,  let  us  take  the  subjects  separately  in 
order  to  ascertain  the  scope  and  quality  of  the  problems  which 
are  now  proposed  for  discussion.  Next  let  us  examine  in 
detail  the  theories  respecting  divine  matters  from  which  thy 
doubts  were  conceived,  and  make  a  statement  of  them,  as 
to  the  sources  of  knowledge  by  which  they  are  to  be  inves- 
tigated. 

Some  which  are  badly  jumbled  together  require  to  be  taken 
apart ;  while  others  have  relation  to  the  Divine  Cause  through 
which  everything  exists,  and  so  are  readily  apprehended.  Oth- 
ers which  we  might  put  forward  according  to  a  certain  plan 
of  exhibiting  contradictory  views,  draw  out  the  judgment  in 
both  directions;  and  there  are  likewise  some  which  demand 
from  us  to  explain  the  whole  of  the  Initiatory  Rites. 

Such  being  the  facts,  our  answers  are  to  be  taken  from 
many  places  and  from  different  sources  of  knowledge.  Some 
of  these  introduce  fundamental  principles  from  the  traditions 
which  the  sages  of  the  Chaldeans  delivered ;  others  derive  sup- 
port from  the  doctrines  which  the  Prophets  of  the  Egyptian 
temples  teach;  and  some  of  them  follow  closely  the  specula- 
tions of  the  Philosophers  and  elicit  the  conclusions  which 
belong  to  them.  And  now  there  are  some  of  these  which  in- 
volve an  unbecoming  dispute  from  diverse  notions  that  are 
not  worthy  of  a  word ;  and  others  that  have  their  origin  from 
prejudices  common  to  human  beings.  All  these,  therefore,  are 
to  be  disposed  of  in  various  ways  by  themselves,  and  are  in 
many  ways  connected  with  one  another. 

Hence,  on  account  of  all  these  things,  there  is  some  discus- 
sion necessary  for  the  directing  of  them  properly. 

PLAN  OF  THE  DISCUSSION 

We  will,  therefore,  set  forth  to  thee  the  hereditary  opinions 


28  THE  EGYPTIAN  MYSTERIES 

of  the  Assyrian  Sages*  in  regard  to  the  True  Knowledge,  and 
will  show  thee  in  plain  terms  our  own.  Some  things  in  the 
Gnosis  will  be  brought  into  the  discussion  from  the  innumer- 
able archaic  writings,  and  the  rest  will  be  from  the  works  upon 
the  entire  range  of  Divine  Matters,  which  the  old  compilers 
have  collected  into  a  book  of  limited  dimensions. 

If,  however,  thou  wouldst  propose  some  philosophic  ques- 
tion, we  will  determine  it  for  thee  according  to  the  ancient 
Tablets  of  Hermes f,  which  Plato  and  Pythagoras,  having  stud- 
ied thoroughly  beforehand,  combined  together  in  Philosophy. 

But  questions  that  are  foreign  to  the  subject,  or  that  are 
disputatious  and  exhibit  a  contentious  disposition  of  mind, 
we  shall  tone  down  gentty  and  aptly,  or  else  show  their  impro- 
priety. So  far  also  as  they  go  in  the  line  of  common  ways  of 
thinking  we  shall  try  to  discuss  them  in  a  familiar  manner. 
Those,  likewise,  which  require  the  experiences  of  the  Divine 
DramasJ  for  an  intelligent  understanding  we  will,  as  far  as 
it  is  possible,  explain  by  words  alone§;  but  those  which  are 

*It  is  evident  that  there  was  a  Gnosis,  or  Sacred  Doctrine  common 
to  the  religions  of  the  principal  countries,  and  that  its  focus  was  at 
Babylon.  Compare  Jeremiah  LI.  7  and  Eevelation  XVII.  Iambliehos 
lived  chiefly  at  Khalkis  in  Syria,  and  was  familiar  with  the  magi  and 
learned  men  of  Persia  and  Assyria.  Hence  as  Abammon  he  refers  the 
Gnosis  to  that  region. 

tThe  Stelag,  Pillars  or  Tablets  of  Thoth,  appear  to  be  little  else  than 
a  figurative  expression  for  the  sacred  learning  in  possession  of  the  Sacer- 
dotal Caste  in  Egypt.  When  we  call  to  mind  that  the  Pyramids  in  that 
country,  before  their  spoliation,  were  cased  all  over  with  tablets  of  stone 
on  which  hieroglyphic  writing  was  engraved,  we  shall  the  better  appre- 
hend the  significance  of  the  allusion  of  Abammon. 

JGreekjejoya  fteta  divine  works  or  performances;  the  exhibitions 
at  the  Mystic  Eites.  As  these  were  dramatic  representations  to  pre- 
figure experiences  of  spiritual  character,  we  substitute  the  term  "drama" 
as  more  likely  to  afford  a  clearer  conception  of  the  meaning.  Element  des- 
ignated the  Eleusinic  "drama." 

§Mr.  Gale,  editor  of  the  Greek  text  of  this  work  as  published  at 
Oxford,  was  of  the  opinion  that  the  reading  of  the  original  was  corrupt, 
and  suggested  an  emendation  which  may  be  rendered  as  follows:  "It  is 
impossible  to  explain  by  mere  words."  This  would  be  in  harmony  with 
the  statement  in  the  Second  Pauline  Epistle  to  the  Corinthian  believers : 
"He  was  carried  suddenly  to  paradise  and  heard  things  ineffable  which 
it  is  not  permitted  to  a  human  being  to  utter  familiarly." 


TWO  FORMS  OF  KNOWING  29 

likewise  full  of  intellectual  speculation  will  be  shown  to  be 
effective  for  purifying  (from  the  earthly  contamination). 

It  is  possible,  however,  to  tell  the  signs  of  this  which  are 
worthy  to  be  noted,  and  from  these  both  thou  and  those  who 
are  like  thee  in  mind  can  be  brought  near  to  the  very  essence 
of  things  that  have  real  being*. 

So  far,  however,  as  they  may  be  actually  known  through 
words,  none  of  these  matters  will  be  left  without  a  perfect 
demonstration,  and  in  reference  to  everything  we  shall  give 
thee  carefully  the  proper  explanation.  Those  which  relate  to 
divine  matters  we  will  answer  as  theologists ;  and  those  which 
pertain  to  Theurgy  we  will  explain  theurgically.  Those  of  a 
philosophic  character  we  will  search  out  with  thee  as  philoso- 
phers, and  such  as  extend  to  the  Primary  Causes  we  will  bring 
forth  into  light  following  the  argument  together  according  to 
first  principles.  Such,  however,  as  pertain  to  morals  or  final 
results  we  will  determine  properly  according  to  ethical  form ; 
and  other  questions,  in  like  manner,  we  will  treat  according  to 
their  proper  place  in  the  arrangement. 

We  will  now  proceed  to  thy  questions. 

TWO  FORMS  OF  KNOWING 

Thou  beginnest  accordingly  by  saying :  "In  the  first  place, 
it  is  to  be  taken  for  granted  that  there  are  gods."  Speaking 
in  this  way  is  not  right.  For  the  inborn  knowledge  in  respect 
to  the  gods  is  coexistent  with  our  very  being,  and  is  superior 
to  all  judging  and  deciding  beforehand.  Indeed,  it  is  preexist- 
ent  both  to  argument  and  demonstration,  and  is  united  inte- 
riorly from  the  beginning  to  its  own  divine  cause  and  is  coex- 
istent with  the  inherent  longing  and  impulse  of  the  soul  to 
the  Good\. 


*Plato  and  his  disciples  employ  the  participle  ov  or  being  to  denote 
the  Absolute  Divinity;  also  the  phrase  ovrcog  ov  real  being  or  that 
which  really  is  or  has  being,  as  contrasted  with  the  "genesis"  or  objective 
existence. 

tit  was  the  practice  of  the  philosophers  to  make  use  of  abstract 
terms  to  represent  the  Supreme  and  Absolute.  Of  this  character  are 
to  dyad-bv  the  Goo.1:  ;  tbdXrj'd'bg  the  True,  6  elq  the  One. 


30  THE  EGYPTIAN   MYSTERIES 

If,  however,  we  must  speak  truly,  the  conjoining  to  the 
divine  nature  is  not  knowing,  for  this  is  kept  separate  after 
a  manner  by  an  otherness.* 

Plato  taught,  says  Professor  Cocker,  that  man  longs  for 
the  good,  and  bears  witness  by  his  restlessness  and  disquie- 
tude ;  that  he  instinctively  desires  it,  and  that  he  can  find  no 
rest  and  satisfaction  in  anything  apart  from  the  knowledge 
and  participation  of  the  Supreme  Absolute  Good. 

Prior  to  this  knowing,  however,  which  is  as  of  one  indi- 
vidual having  knowledge  of  another,  the  intimate  union  as  in 
a  single  concept  is  self-originated  and  indistinguishable. 
Hence  we  ought  to  concede  the  point  as  though  possibly  it 
might  not  be  granted,  not  to  assume  it  as  a  matter  of  uncer- 
tainty, for  it  always  existed  simply  in  energy.  Nor  is  it 
proper  to  put  it  to  proof  in  this  way  as  though  we  had  author- 
ity to  judge  and  reject;  for  we  are  ourselves  encompassed  in 
it,  or  rather  we  are  filled  by  it,  and  the  very  selfhood  which 
we  are  we  possess  in  this  knowing  of  the  godsf. 

I  have,  moreover,  the  same  thing  to  say  to  thee  in  regard 
to  the  Superior  races  which  come  next  in  order  after  the  gods. 
I  mean  the  demons,  heroes,  and  uncontaminate  soulst. 

For  it  is  always  necessary  to  bear  in  mind  respecting  these 
subordinate  races  that  they  have  one  defined  form  of  essence ; 
also  that  we  put  aside  from  our  conception  of  them  the  indefi- 
niteness  and  instability  which  are  incident  to  the  human  con- 


*  Power  and  energy  are  thus  distinguished  from  their  result.  Da- 
maskios  remarks  that  "where  there  is  not  otherness,  there  will  be  no 
knowing.  A  union  on  conjunction,  as  of  one  to  another,  is  superior  to 
knowledge." 

tThe  Chaldcean  Oracles  quoted  by  Damaskios  declare  that  "the 
prolific  fountain  of  souls  is  encompassed  by  the  two  Minds."  He  adds 
that  "the  fiery  signals  which  draw  down  the  ripe  ones  are  in  God,"  which 
Simplikios  explains:  "The  Unbodied  ones  are  the  Supreme  Mind  and 
God  being  Source  and  Cause." 

JDamaskios  described  the  "demons"  as  tutelary  spirits  of  a  nature 
essentially  divine.  They  were  said  to  have  charge  of  the  oracles  and 
worldly  affairs  generally.  The  "heroes"  or  demigods  were  a  lower  race 
in  the  order  of  emanation.  The  term  denotes  the  son  of  a  divinity,  with 
a  human  parent.  Uncontaminated  souls  are  such  as  are  not  impure  from 
the  attraction  of  the  genesis  or  domain  of  phenomenal  existence. 


EEPLY  OF  ABAMMON  TO  LETTER  OF  PORPHYRY   31 

stitution  and  renounce  the  tendency  to  incline  to  the  other  side 
which  arises  from  attempts  to  counterbalance  the  opposition 
of  the  arguments.  For  such  a  thing  is  foreign  to  the  principles 
of  reason  and  life,  but  is  derived  from  secondary  sources, 
such  even  as  belong  to  the  power  and  contrariness  of  the  realm 
of  generated  existence.  It  is  necessary,  however,  to  treat  of 
them  as  being  of  a  uniform  nature. 

Let  it  be  admitted,  then,  that  with  the  companions  of  the 
gods*  in  the  eternal  region  there  is  the  innate  perception  of 
them. 

Therefore,  even  as  they  have  their  being  always  after  the 
same  manner,  so  also  the  human  soul  is  conjoined  to  them  by 
Knowledge  according  to  the  same  principles;  never  by  any 
conjecture,  opinion  or  reasoning  which  have  their  beginning 
in  Time  pursuing  the  essence  which  is  beyond  all  these,  but 
by  pure  and  faultless  intuitions  which  it  received  out  of  eter- 
nity from  the  gods  being  conjoined  with  them  in  these  prin- 
ciples. 

Nevertheless,  thou  seemest  to  consider  the  knowing  of  di- 
vine beings  to  be  the  same  as  the  knowing  of  other  matters,  and 
likewise  that  a  point  may  be  taken  for  granted  from  opposing 
arguments,  as  is  usual  in  debates.  But  there  is  no  such  simi- 
larity. For  the  perceiving  of  them  is  absolutely  distinct  from 
everything  of  antithetic  character.  It  is  not  made  valid  by 
being  now  conceded  or  by  coming  into  existence,  but  on  the 
other  hand  it  is  a  single  concept,  and  coexisted  with  the  soul 
from  eternity. 

I  say  such  things  to  thee,  therefore,  in  regard  to  the  first 
principle  in  us,  at  which  it  is  necessary  for  those  to  begin  who 
would  both  speak  and  hear  anything  whatever  concerning  the 
superior  races  or  about  ourselves. 


♦The  Platonic  philosophers  before  Iamblichos  taught  that  the  many 
gods  are  the  "outsliinings"  or  emanations  of  the  one  Super-essential 
Deity  and  not  substances  complete  of  themselves.  The  Ancient  Sad- 
ducees  are  said  to  have  held  a  similar  opinion,  not  denying  the  actual 
existence  of  angels  and  spirits,  but  that  they  existed  permanently  by  in- 
herent energy.  The  same  sentiment  appears  in  the  ninety-fifth  (ninety- 
sixth)  Psalm.  The  Chaldcean  Oracle,  however,  declared  that  "Not  from 
the  eternal  source  did  anything  ran  forth  incomplete." 


32  THE  EGYPTIAN  MYSTERIES 

PECULIARITIES  OF  THE  SUPERIOR  RACES 

Then  follows  thy  question:  "What  are  the  peculiarities 
of  the  Superior  races  by  which  they  are  differentiated  from 
each  other?"  If  by  "peculiarities"  thou  meanest  differences 
as  of  species  under  the  same  genus,  which  are  distinguished 
by  opposite  characteristics,  as  rational  and  irrational  under 
the  head  of  animal,  we  by  no  means  admit  the  existence  of  such 
differences  in  beings  that  neither  have  one  common  essence* 
nor  characteristics  diverse  from  one  another,  nor  have  re- 
ceived an  organization  from  a  common  source  which  is  unde- 
fined and  yet  defines  the  peculiarity. 

If,  however,  thou  supposest  the  peculiarity  to  be  a  certain 
simple  conditiou  limited  in  itself,  as  in  primary  and  secondary 
races,  which  differ  in  their  entire  essence  and  in  the  whole 
genus,  thy  notion  of  the  peculiarities  is  reasonable.  For  these 
peculiarities  of  beings  that  always  exist  will  all  be  in  some 
manner  set  apart,  separate  and  simple. 

The  questioning,  however,  is  going  forward  to  little  pur- 
pose, for  it  behooves  us,  first  of  all,  to  ascertain  what  the 
peculiarities  are  in  regard  to  essence,  then  in  regard  to  power, 
and  so,  after  that,  what  they  are  in  regard  to  energy.  But 
as  thou  hast  now  put  the  question  in  reference  to  certain  pecu- 
liarities which  distinguish  them,  thou  speakest  only  of  the 
peculiarities  of  energies.  Hence  thou  askest  the  difference  in 
them  in  respect  to  the  last  things  as  mentioned,  but  art  passing 
over  unnoticed,  without  questioning,  the  first,  and,  as  relating 
to  the  elements  of  variableness,  the  most  important  of  them. 

Moreover,  there  is  something  added  in  the  same  place  in 
regard  to  "active  or  passive  motions."  This  is  a  classification 
not  at  all  proper  as  relates  to  the  Superior  races ;  for  in  none 
of  them  is  there  the  contrast  of  active  and  passive,  but  certain 
of  their  energies  are  to  be  contemplated  as  unconditioned, 
unrestrained,  and  without  relation  to  anything  opposing. 
Hence  we  do  not  admit  in  regard  to  them  that  there  are  such 
motions  as  active  and  passive  in  respect  to  the  soul.     For 


*Plato  defines  essence  as  that  which  has  "real  being,"  and  describes 
it  as  "colorless,  formless  and  intangible,  visible  only  to  the  mind  or  higher 
reason  that  guides  the  soul." 


REPLY  OF  ABAMMON  TO  LETTER  OF  PORPHYRY       33 

we  do  not  concede  self-motion  from  moving  and  being  set  in 
motion;  but  we  suppose  that  there  is  a  certain  unique  self- 
originating  motion  which  is  its  very  own,  and  not  an  aptitude 
derived  from  an  outside  source  taking  from  it  action  in  itself 
and  a  passive  condition  by  itself.  "Who,  then,  may  admit  in 
respect  to  the  races  superior  to  the  soul  that  they  are  to  be 
distinguished  by  the  peculiarities  of  active  and  passive  mo- 
tions?* 

Further,  therefore,  that  expression  which  is  added,  "or 
things  consequent,"  is  inconsistent  with  their  nature.  For 
in  the  case  of  those  of  composite  nature,  and  of  those  that 
exist  together  with  others  or  in  others,  or  that  are  encom- 
passed by  others,  some  are  conceived  of  as  leading  and  others 
as  following,  some  as  being  themselves  essences  and  others 
as  contingent  upon  essences.  For  there  is  an  arrangement  of 
them  in  regular  order,  and  there  intervenes  unfriendliness  and 
disagreement  between  them.  But  in  regard  to  the  superior 
races,  they  are  all  to  be  considered  as  self-subsisting.  The 
perfect  ones  take  rank  as  chiefs,  and  are  separate  by  them- 
selves, and  neither  have  their  substance  from  others  or  in 
others.  Thus  there  is  nothing  about  them  that  is  "conse- 
quent." In  no  respect,  therefore,  is  their  peculiarity  charac- 
terized from  these. 

And  now  there  occurs  at  the  end  of  the  question  the  natural 
distinction.  The  question  is  whether  the  essences  are  to  be 
known  by  energies,  physical  motions,  and  things  consequent. 
Everything,  however,  is  to  the  contrary.  For  as  the  energies 
and  motions  made  up  the  actual  substance  of  the  essence,  they 
would  themselves  likewise  be  dominant  in  regard  to  their 
difference.  If,  however,  the  essences  generate  the  energies, 
being  themselves  previously  separate,  then  they  impart  to  the 
motions,  energies,  and  things  consequent,  that  which  consti- 
tutes the  differences.  This  mode,  therefore,  is  contrary  to 
what  is  supposed  in  the  present  hunt  to  find  the  peculiarity. 

In  short,  however,  whether  thou  imaginest  that  there  is 

*Plato  bases  upon  this  fact  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  The  soul 
originates  its  own  action  and  receptivity  by  volition.  This  volition  is 
self-motion,  and  is  that  quality  of  moral  freedom  which  has  placed  human 
beings  above  and  apart  from  the  animal  tribes. 


34  THE  EGYPTIAN  MYSTERIES 

one  race  of  gods  and  one  of  demons,  and  in  like  manner  of 
heroes  (or  half- gods),  and  after  the  same  course  of  things, 
of  unbodied  souls,  or  whether  thou  supposest  that  there  are 
many  races  in  each  category,  thou  demandest  that  the  dis- 
tinguishing of  them  shall  be  according  to  peculiarities.  For 
if  thou  supposest  each  race  to  be  a  unit,  the  whole  arrange- 
ment of  divine  orders  according  to  the  more  perfect  classifica- 
tion* is  overturned;  however,  they  are  denned  by  these  accord- 
ing to  race,  as  it  may  seem  satisfactory,  and  there  is  not 
among  them  one  common  definition  in  relation  to  essence  ex- 
cept that  those  that  are  prior  are  distinguished  from  the  infe- 
rior races,  it  is  not  possible  to  find  out  their  common  bounda- 
ries. And  even  though  it  should  be  possible,  this  very  thing 
takes  away  their  peculiarities.  Hence  the  object  which  is 
sought  is  not  to  be  found  in  this  way.  He,  however,  will  be 
able  to  define  their  peculiarities  who  reasons  upon  the  analo- 
gous sameness  in  the  higher  orders;  as,  for  example,  with 
the  many  races  among  the  gods,  and  again  with  those  among 
the  daemons  and  half-gods,  and  lastly  with  souls.  Hence  it 
has  been  demonstrated  by  us  through  this  argument  what  is 
the  right  course  of  the  present  investigation,  its  limitation, 
and  how  it  is  possible  for  it  to  be  made. 

ARRANGEMENT  OP  THE  SUPERIOR  ORDERS 

Let  us  next  proceed  with  the  answers,  one  after  another, 
to  the  questions  which  have  been  asked.  There  is  then  the 
Good:  both  that  which  is  beyond  essence  and  that  which  exists 
through  essence.  I  am  speaking  of  that  essence  which  is  the 
most  ancient  and  most  to  be  revered,  and  which,  as  to  itself, 
is  incorporeal. f    It  is  a  special  peculiarity  of  the  gods,  and  is 


*In  the  Assyrian  or  Chaldasan  Plan  of  Divine  Orders,  the  following 
are  instanced  by  Damaskios:  1.  The  Intellectible  Gods.  2.  The 
Hyparchs  or  superior  archons.    3.    The  Archons.    4.    The  Archangels. 

5.  The  Azoni  or  unclassified  who  belong  to  no  denned   jurisdiction. 

6.  Local  Genii.    This  arrangement  is  hinted  at  in  Part  VIII,  §  2. 

tThis  is  the  common  dogma  of  every  ancient  faith.  In  the  Hindu 
category,  the  Brahman  is  the  Good  which  is  beyond  essence  and  absolute, 
while  Brahma  is  identical  with  essence.  The  Parsis  acknowledge  Zero- 
ana,  the  Unlimited,  and  Ahurmazda,  the  Divine  Creator.  The  Egyptian 
priests  worshiped  Amun,  the  hidden  One,  and  Ptah,  the  Demiurgos  or 
Architect  of  the  Universe. 


SOULS,  DEMONS  AND  HEROES  35 

characteristic  of  all  the  races  that  are  included  with  them; 
and  hence,  not  being  divided  from  this,  but  existing  in  like 
manner  the  same  in  them  all,  it  preserves  their  peculiar  dis- 
tribution and  arrangement. 

SOULS 

But  with  souls  that  are  ruling  over  bodies,  that  are  occu- 
pied with  the  care  of  them,  and  that  are  placed  in  order  apart 
by  themselves  in  the  eternal  regions,  before  the  transition  to 
generated  existence,  there  is  not  present  either  the  essence  of 
the  Good,  or  the  Cause  (or  Supreme  Principle)  of  the  Good 
which  is  prior  to  essence;  but  there  comes  from  it  a  certain 
participation  and  habit  of  good,  as  we  perceive  that  a  sharing 
of  beauty  and  virtue  is  very  different  from  what  we  observe 
with  human  beings.  For  this  is  equivocal,  and  becomes  mani- 
fest in  complex  natures  as  sole  thing  acquired.  But  the  prin- 
ciple of  goodness  is  established  unchangeable  and  perpetual 
in  the  Souls.  It  never  at  any  time  goes  away  from  itself,  nor 
is  it  taken  away  by  anything  else. 

DEMONS  AND  HEROES  OR  HALF-GODS 

Such  then  being  the  case  with  the  divine  races,  the  first 
and  the  last  (the  gods  and  souls),  let  us  consider  the  two  races 
intermediate  between  these  two  extremes,  namely:  1.  That 
of  heroes  or  half-gods,  which  not  only  ranks  higher  than  the 
order  of  souls  in  power  and  virtue,  moral  beauty  and  great- 
ness, and  excells  it  in  every  good  quality  which  is  incident  in 
souls,  but  is  also  closely  joined  to  them  by  the  kindred  rela- 
tionship of  a  similar  form  of  life.  2.  The  other,  the  race  of 
demons,  which  is  closely  allied  to  the  gods,  yet  is  in  a  certain 
sense  inferior  to  them,  following  as  though  it  was  not  first  in 
rank  but  accompanying  in  subservience  to  the  good  pleasure 
of  the  gods.  This  race  causes  the  otherwise  invisible  good- 
ness of  the  gods  to  become  visible  in  operation,  becoming  itself 
both  assimilated  to  it,  and  accomplishing  perfect  works  that 
are  like  it.  For  then  what  was  before  unutterable  in  it  is  made 
capable  of  being  uttered,  what  was  without  form  is  caused 
to  shine  forth  in  visible  figures,  whatever  of  it  was  beyond  all 


36  THE  EGYPTIAN  MYSTERIES 

reasoning  is  brought  forth  into  plain  words,  and  having  al- 
ready received  the  connate  participation  of  beautiful  gifts  it 
bestows  the  same  ungrudgingly,  and  transfers  them  to  the 
races  that  rank  after  itself. 

Thus  these  intermediate  races  complete  the  common  bond 
of  gods  and  souls  and  render  the  connection  between  them 
indissoluble.  They  not  only  bind  these  together  in  one  con- 
tinuous series,  from  those  on  high  to  the  very  last,  but  they 
make  the  union  of  them  all  incapable  of  being  separated  and 
to  be  a  most  perfect  blending  and  an  equal  intermingling  of 
them  all.  They  likewise,  after  a  manner,  cause  an  outgoing 
influence  to  go  forth  equally  from  the  superior  to  the  inferior 
races  and  a  reciprocal  one  from  subordinate  races  to  those 
ranking  above  them.  They  also  establish  order  among  the 
more  imperfect  races,  and  likewise  due  proportions  of  the 
gift  coming  down  from  the  better  ones  and  of  the  reception 
which  takes  place ;  and  having  themselves  received  from  above 
from  the  gods  the  causes  or  motives  of  all  these,  they  make 
everything  agreeable  and  suited  in  every  respect  to  all. 

Thou  must  not  think,  therefore,  that  this  classification  is 
a  peculiarity  of  powers  or  of  energies  or  of  essence;  nor  art 
thou  taking  them  separately,  to  inspect  them  one  by  one.  Nev- 
ertheless, by  extending  the  inquiry  through  all  of  them  thou 
wilt  complete  the  answer  to  what  was  asked  in  relation  to  the 
peculiarities  of  gods,  demons  and  half-gods,  and  of  those  that 
are  included  in  the  category  of  souls. 

Let  us  proceed  again,  by  another  line  of  argument.  Every- 
thing, whatever  it  may  be,  and  of  whatever  quality,  that  is 
united,  that  is  firmly  established  in  itself  by  unalterable  law 
and  is  a  cause  among  the  indivisible  essences — that  is  immov- 
able, and  so  is  to  be  considered  as  the  cause  of  all  motion — 
that  is  superior  to  all  things  and  has  nothing  whatever  in  com- 
mon with  them — that  is  to  be  generally  considered  as  wholly 
unmingled  and  separate,  not  only  in  being  but  in  power  and 
energy — every  such  thing  should  be  ascribed  to  the  gods  as 
being  worthy  of  them.  But  that  which  is  already  divided  into 
a  great  member,  that  which  can  give  itself  to  other  objects, 
that  which  both  receives  from  others  the  limitation  within 


THE  INTERMEDIATE  RACES  37 

itself  and  is  sufficient  for  the  distribution  among  imperfect 
ones  to  make  these  complete,  that  nevertheless  participates 
in  the  primary  and  life-giving  motion*  and  has  communion 
with  all  things  self-existent  and  coming  into  existence,  that 
receives  a  commingling  of  substances  from  them  all  and  im- 
parts a  radiating  influence  from  itself  to  all,  and  that  extends 
these  peculiar  properties  through  all  the  powers,  essences  and 
energies  in  itself — all  this,  speaking  what  is  true,  we  shall 
ascribe  to  souls,  as  being  implanted  in  them. 

THE  INTERMEDIATE  RACES 

What  shall  we  say,  then,  in  regard  to  the  intermediate 
races?  I  think  from  what  has  been  said  already  that  they 
are  sufficiently  manifest  to  every  one ;  for  they  make  complete 
the  indivisible  connection  between  the  extreme  races. t  Nev- 
ertheless, it  is  necessary  to  continue  the  explanation.  I  as- 
sume, accordingly,  the  race  of  demons  to  be  a  multitude  in 
one,  to  be  commingled  in  an  unmingled  manner,  and  to  accept 
the  lower  races  as  associated  with  a  distinct  concept  of  the 
most  excellent.  But  on  the  other  hand,  I  describe  the  race  of 
heroes  or  demi-gods  as  being  placed  over  more  common  dis- 
tribution and  multitude,  and  likewise  over  action  and  com- 
mingling, and  matters  akin  to  these.  It  also  receives  gifts 
from  above,  transcendent,  and  as  though  concealed  within — 
I  mean  union,  purity  of  nature,  stable  condition,  and  undi- 
vided identity  and  superiority  over  others.  For  each  of  these 
intermediate  races  is  next  to  one  of  the  extreme  races  beyond 
— one  to  the  first  and  the  other  to  the  last.  It  follows  as  a 
natural  result  that  by  a  continued  series  of  kindred  relations 
the  demonian  race,  beginning  from  the  highest  in  rank,  pro- 


*Iamblichos  is  generally  regarded  as  here  endeavoring  to  reconcile 
the  apparent  discrepancy  between  Plato  and  Aristotle  — ■  the  latter 
described  the  soul  as  immovable,  and  Plato  as  self-moving,  in  which 
statement  he  refers  to  operation  and  not  to  essence.  Syrianos  explains 
that  the  soul  is  self-moving  because  it  is  set  in  motion  from  itself  and 
certainly  not  by  an  agent  inferior  to  itself.  Proklos  adds  that  the  soul 
is  self-moved  in  respect  to  the  body  and  things  of  sense  which  plainly 
are  set  in  motion  from  without  themselves. 

fThe  gods  above  and  the  souls  below,  angels,  demons  and  demigods. 


38  THE  EGYPTIAN   MYSTERIES 

ceeds  to  the  lower  races,  and  that  the  other,  having  primarily 
a  connection  with  the  last  of  them  all,  should  in  some  way 
have  communication  with  those  that  are  superior. 

Hence  there  may  be  perceived  the  complete  joining  to- 
gether into  one  of  the  first  and  last  races  (the  gods  and  souls) 
through  the  intermediates  (the  demons  and  half-gods),  and 
the  entire  sameness  of  nature,  alike  equally  in  substance,  and 
also  alike  in  power  and  energy.*  Whereas,  therefore,  we  have 
made  the  classification  of  the  four  races  in  these  two  ways 
perfectly  complete,  we  think  it  sufficient  in  regard  to  the  others 
that  for  the  sake  of  brevity,  and  because  that  which  remains 
—the  comprehending  of  the  intermediate  tribes — is  in  a  meas- 
ure already  plain,  we  exhibit  only  the  peculiarities  of  the  ex- 
treme races.  Hence  we  shall  pass  over  the  intermediate  tribes 
as  being  already  well  known,  and  make  a  sketch  of  the  others 
in  some  way  in  very  few  words. 

♦This  distinction  of  principles  is  noted  in  the  Chaldcean  Oracles. 
Pythagoras  indicates  the  same  by  the  terms  monad,  duad,  triad ;  Plato 
by  JisQag,  dbteiQov  and  [ivh.xov  Damaskios  by  the  One,  the  many, 
and  the  union.  Another  version  of  the  Oracles  in  place  of  "Substance" 
has  Father,  and  for  "energy"  Mind  or  Season. 


Ill 

THE  SUPERIOR  RACES 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  SUPERIOR  RACES 

PECULIARITIES  OF  THE  GODS  AND  SOULS 

In  regard  to  the  extreme  races  (the  gods  and  souls)  the 
former  is  chief,  superior  and  perfect;  the  other  is  inferior 
and  imperfect.  The  former  can  do  all  things  at  once  uni- 
formly and  now;  but  the  other  is  neither  able  to  do  anything 
completely  nor  immediately;  neither  speedily  nor  individu- 
ally. The  former  generates  all  things  and  is  guardian  over 
them;  but  the  latter  has  a  natural  disposition  to  yield  and  to 
turn  submissively  toward  what  it  generates  and  has  under 
guardianship.  The  former,  being  the  original  cause,  has  pre- 
eminence over  all;  but  the  latter,  being  dependent  upon  the 
pleasure  of  the  gods  as  from  a  cause,  is  coexistent  with  it 
from  eternity.  The  former  in  a  single  decisive  moment  grasps 
the  ends  of  all  the  energies  and  essences ;  but  the  latter  passes 
from  some  things  to  others  and  goes  forward  from  the  imper- 
fect to  the  perfect.  Further  still,  there  exists  with  the  former 
the  highest  and  unlimited,  superior  to  all  measurement,  and 
so  completely  formless  as  to  be  circumscribed  by  no  formative 
principles ;  but  the  latter  is  dominated  by  impulse,  habit  and 
inclination,  and  is  held  fast  both  by  longings  for  that  which 
is  inferior  and  by  being  familiar  with  things  of  a  secondary 
character.  At  length  it  is  moulded  in  various  ways  and  pro- 
portions from  them.  Hence  mind,  the  leader  and  king  of  the 
things  that  actually  are,  the  demiurgic  art  of  the  universe, 
is  always  present  with  the  gods  in  the  same  manner,  com- 
pletely and  abundantly,  being  established  in  itself  unalloyed 
according  to  one  sole  energy.    Bat  the  soul  partakes  of  divis- 

41 


42  THE  EGYPTIAN  MYSTEEIES 

ible  and  multiform  mind,*  adapting  itself  to  the  supreme 
authority  over  all.  It  also  takes  care  of  unsouled  beings,  hav- 
ing been  itself  born  into  various  forms  at  different  times. 
From  the  same  causes,  order  itself  and  beauty  itself  are  co- 
existent with  the  Superior  races;  or  if  it  is  desired  so  to 
express  it,  the  First  cause  is  coexistent  with  these.  But  with 
the  soul  the  allotment  of  intellective  order  and  divine  beauty 
is  always  associated.  With  the  gods,  the  measure  of  all  things, 
or  rather  the  cause  of  it,  is  perpetually  coordinate;  but  the 
soul  is  confined  to  the  divine  limit  and  only  participates  of 
this  in  a  limited  degree.  With  good  reason  there  may  be 
ascribed  to  the  gods  dominion  over  all  beings,  by  the  power 
and  supreme  authority  of  the  First  Cause;  but  the  soul  has 
defined  limits  within  which  it  can  have  command. 

Such  being  the  different  peculiarities  of  the  races  at  the 
highest  and  lowest  extremes,  what  we  have  now  been  saying 
may  be  understood  without  difficulty,  and  also  the  peculiarities 
of  the  intermediates,  the  demons  and  half-gods;  these  being 
each  next  to  one  of  the  extremes,  resembling  both  and  going- 
out  from  both  to  the  intermediate  region,  and  so  effecting  a 
harmonious  union  by  commingling  them  and  joining  them 
together  in  due  proportions. 

Let  such,  then,  be  considered  the  peculiarities  of  the  first 
divine  races. 


DISTINCTIONS  OP  THE  SUPERIOR  RACES 

Surely  we  do  not  admit  the  distinction  of  the  Superior 
races  to  be  what  is  suggested  by  thee:  "a  classification  estab- 
lished by  difference  of  bodies,  the  gods  being  distinguished 
by  sstherial  bodies,  the  demons  by  aerial  bodies,  and  souls  by 


*The  Chdldimn  Oracles  also  recognize  this  twofold  mind.  The  one, 
the  Pure  Reason  or  Intelligence,  was  placed  over  the  first  Triad.  "The 
Mind  of  the  Father  named  all  things  in  threes,  and  governed  them  all 
by  Mind."  This  mind  they  considered  as  sole,  unparticipating,  and 
essential.  The  other  was  described  as  participant  and  divisible  into  parts 
or  qualities. 


DISTINCTIONS  OF  THE  SUPERIOR  RACES  43 

bodies  pertaining  to  the  earth."  Such  an  arrangement  would 
be  like  the  assigning  of  Sokrates  to  a  tribe  when  he  was  a 
Prytanis,*  and  is  not  proper  to  be  admitted  in  regard  to  the 
divine  races,  which  are  all  by  themselves,  unbound  and  free.t 
To  make  bodies  their  own  first  causes,  as  to  their  specific  na- 
ture, appears  to  be  a  fearful  absurdity;  for  they  are  sub- 
servient to  these  causes  and  subject  to  the  conditions  of  gen- 
erated existence. 

Further  still,  the  races  of  Superior  beings  are  not  in  the 
bodies,  but  govern  them  from  outside.  Hence  they  do  not 
undergo  changes  with  the  bodies.  Yet  they  give  from  them- 
selves to  the  bodies  every  such  good  as  the  latter  are  able  to 
receive,  but  they  themselves  receive  nothing  from  the  bodies. 
Hence  they  cannot  have  received  from  them  any  peculiarities. 
For  if  they  were  as  habits  of  the  bodies,  or  as  material  forms, 
or  some  other  body-like  quality,  it  might  be  possible  for  them, 
perhaps,  to  undergo  change  together  with  the  different  condi- 
tions of  the  bodies.  But  if  they  preexist  separate  from  bodies, 
and  unmingied  with  them,  what  rational  distinction  origi- 
nating from  the  bodies  can  be  developed  in  them? 

In  fact,  this  proposition  in  regard  to  these  races  makes 
the  bodies  actually  superior  to  the  divine  races,  since  by  such 
a  hypothesis  they  furnish  a  vehicle  for  the  superior  causes 
and  fix  in  them  the  peculiarities  incident  to  their  essence. 
Nevertheless,  it  is  plain  that  if  the  allotments,  distributions 
and  assignments  of  those  that  govern  are  arranged  with  those 
that  are  governed  this  authority  will  be  given  to  the  more 
excellent.  For  it  is  because  those  that  are  placed  over  others 
are  such  that  they  receive  thereby  such  an  allotment,  and  give 


*The  Prytanis  of  Athens  were  fifty  in  number,  and  were  selected 
from  the  Boule  or  Senate.  Sokrates,  at  the  age  of  sixty,  was  chosen 
to  that  dignity. 

fThe  Chaldean  Theology  did  not  unequivocally  describe  all  the  gods 
as  "unbound."  The  seven  cosmokrators,  or  rulers  of  the  world,  the 
lords  of  the  zodiacal  houses  and  fche  cosmic  gods  assigned  to  regions 
of  the  world,  were  bound  to  their  respective  jurisdictions. 


U  THE  EGYPTIAN  MYSTERIES 

this  a  specific  character;  but  the  essence  itself  does  not  be- 
come assimilated  to  the  nature  of  the  corporeal  receptacle.* 

Hence  I  may  speak  as  regards  this  subject  in  its  turn,  but 
a  supposition  of  this  kind  must  be  admitted  in  respect  to  the 
imperfect  soul.  For  such  a  mode  of  living  as  the  soul  pro- 
jected, and  such  an  ideal  as  was  ready  before  entering  into 
a  human  body,  there  is  a  corresponding  organic  body,  joined 
to  it  and  a  similar  nature  which  receives  its  more  perfect 
life.f 

In  respect  to  the  superior  races  and  those  which  as  being 
universal  include  the  origin  of  all,  the  inferior  ones  are  pro- 
duced in  the  superiors,  the  corporeal  in  the  incorporeal,  and, 
being  encompassed  by  them  in  one  circle,  are  governed  by 
them.  Hence  the  revolutions  of  the  heavenly  spheres  J  have 
been  induced  originally  by  the  setherial  soul  and  are  always 
inherent  in  it.  The  souls  of  the  world  also  being  extended  to 
their  own  mind,  are  absolutely  encompassed  by  it  and  pri- 
marily generated  in  it.  In  like  manner  also,  the  Mind,  both 
that  which  is  divisible  (into  attributes  and  qualities)  and  that 


*The  preexistence  of  the  soul  in  the  eternal  world,  before  becoming 
involved  in  the  genesis  and  conditions  of  the  earth-life,  was  generally 
believed.  Even  after  being  set  free  at  death,  it  was  supposed  to  be,  after 
a  period  of  less  or  greater  length,  again  attracted  back  to  the  mundane 
sphere.  Plato  illustrates  this  by  the  Vision  of  Eros  in  the  Republic. 
The  choice  of  the  earthly  condition  is  made  by  the  soul  itself,  and  very 
generally  it  differs  from  what  it  had  been  in  the  preceding  term  of 
life  in  the  world.  "The  cause  is  in  him  who  makes  the  choice,  and  the 
divinity  is  without  blame  in  the  matter."  Eros  adds  that  after  the  souls 
had  chosen  their  new  lives  according  as  they  drew  the  lots,  they  all 
went  in  their  order  to  Lachesis,  and  she  gave  to  every  one  the  demon 
that  he  had  chosen,  and  sent  the  demon  along  with  him  to  be  the 
guardian  genius  of  his  life,  and  the  accomplisher  of  the  fate  which 
he  had  chosen.     Then  he  was  born  anew  into  the  earth. 

fThe  cause  or  incentive  for  the  coming  of  the  soul  into  generated 
life  is  variously  explained  by  different  writers.  According  to  Plotinus, 
the  universal  soul  does  not  come  to  a  body  as  the  body  may  come 
to  it,  nor  does  the  body  contain  the  soul,  but  is  contained  by  it. 
Simplikios  accepted  the  statement  of  Iamblichos,  that  "the  soul  projects 
certain  lives  for  itself." 

$The  stars  and  planets  were  regarded  as  abodes  or  receptacles  of 
souls. 


THE  SUPERIOR  RACES  45 

which  is  entire,  is  included  (as  essential  quality)  of  the  supe- 
rior races.  Hence  the  secondary  races,  being  always  turned 
toward  the  primary,  and  the  superiors  leading  the  inferiors 
as  exemplars,  essence  and  ideal  come  to  the  lower  races  from 
those  which  are  superior,  and  those  which  are  ignoble  are  pro- 
duced primarily  in  the  more  excellent.  Hence,  accordingly, 
order  and  proportion  come  from  the  latter  to  the  inferior 
races,  and  these  are  what  they  are  through  the  former.  But 
there  is  no  transmitting  of  peculiarities  from  the  inferior 
races  to  those  which  precede  them. 

Such  a  classification,  therefore,  based  on  corporeal  concep- 
tions, is  shown  by  these  arguments  to  be  false.  Even  though 
in  this  case  it  may  seem  otherwise  to  thee,  the  false  assump- 
tion is  not  worthy  of  a  word.  Such  a  case  does  not  exhibit 
abundant  argument,  but  one  belabors  himself  to  no  purpose 
if  he  puts  forth  hypotheses  and  then  endeavors  to  refute  them 
as  not  being  true.  For  in  what  way  is  essence,  which  is  abso- 
lutely incorporeal,  having  nothing  in  common  with  the  bodies 
that  partake  of  it,  to  be  distinguished  from  such  bodies'?  Not 
being  in  any  way  present  with  the  bodies  as  a  matter  of  place, 
how  is  it  to  be  separated  by  places  after  the  corporeal  man- 
ner? And  not  being  separated  by  circumscribed  divisions  of 
subject  matter,  how  is  it  to  be  held  in  a  divided  condition  by 
the  divisions  of  the  world?  But  what  is  more,  what  is  there 
that  can  hinder  the  gods  from  going  everywhere?  What  is 
there  to  hold  their  power  in  check,  from  extending  to  the  vault 
of  the  sky?  For  this  would  be  the  work  of  a  cause  far  mightier 
than  the  one  shutting  them  in  and  circumscribing  them  within 
certain  parts.  Real  being — that  which  truly  is,  and  which 
is  in  itself  incorporeal — is  everywhere,  wherever  it  pleases. 
Yet,  as  thou  takest  for  granted,  that  which  is  divine  and  which 
transcends  all  things  is  itself  transcended  by  the  perfectness 
of  the  entire  world,  and  is  encompassed  by  it  in  a  specific  di- 
vision, and  hence  is  inferior  in  respect  to  bodily  dimensions. 
Yet  if  there  is  no  divine  creation  and  no  participation  of 
divine  ideals  extending  through  the  whole  world,  I  do  not  see, 
for  my  part,  any  opportunity  for  a  creating  and  framing  of 
them  after  specific  forms. 


46  THE  EGYPTIAN"  MYSTEEIES 

In  short,  however,  this  opinion  which  banishes  the  pres- 
ence of  the  superior  races  entirely  from  the  earth  is  an  abro- 
gating of  the  Sacred  Rites  and  theurgic  communion  of  the 
gods  with  human  beings.  For  it  says  nothing  else  than  that 
the  divine  ones  dwell  apart  from  the  earth,  that  they  do  not 
commingle  with  human  beings,  and  that  this  region  is  deserted 
by  them.  Consequently,  according  to  this  reasoning  we  priests 
have  never  learned  anything  whatever  from  the  gods,  and 
since  we  differ  in  nothing  from  other  men  thou  hast  not  done 
right  in  questioning  us  as  though  we  knew  more  than  others. 

Not  one  of  these  statements  of  thine,  however,  is  sound. 
For  neither  are  the  gods  limited  to  parts  of  the  earth,  nor 
are  the  inferior  races  about  the  earth  excluded  from  their 
presence.  On  the  contrary,  the  superior  races  are  character- 
ized in  this  way:  that  they  are  encompassed  by  nothing  and 
that  they  encompass  all  tilings  in  themselves.  But  those  that 
belong  to  the  earth  have  their  being  in  the  perfections  (ple- 
romas)  of  the  gods,  and  when  they  become  fit  for  the  divine 
communion  they  at  once,  prior  to  their  own  essence,  possess 
the  gods  that  preexisted  in  it. 

That  this  entire  classification  is  false,  that  this  plan  of 
investigating  peculiarities  is  irrational,  and  that  the  notion 
of  distributing  the  gods  each  to  a  certain  region  does  not  per- 
mit the  receiving  of  the  entire  essence  and  power  which  are 
in  them,  we  have  fully  established.  It  would  have  been  right, 
therefore,  to  omit  the  dissenting  inquiry  in  regard  to  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  Superior  races,  as  it  contradicts  nothing  in 
regard  to  the  true  conceptions.  On  the  other  hand,  our  atten- 
tion should  be  directed,  instead,  to  the  intelligent  perception 
of  matters  relating  to  the  gods,  and  not  to  the  holding  of  a 
discussion  with  a  man ;  and  for  this  reason  we  shall  adapt  the 
present  discourse  to  the  disposing  of  subjects  of  probability 
and  matters  relating  to  the  gods. 

HOW  DIVINE  RACES  ARE  DISTRIBUTED 

I  assume  accordingly  that  thou  askest  a  solution  of  that 
matter  of  which  thou  seemest  to  be  in  doubt,  namely:  "As 
the  gods  dwell  only  in  Heaven,  why  are  invocations  at  the 


THE  SUPERIOR  RACES  47 

Theurgic  Rites  directed  to  them  as  being  of  the  Earth  and 
Underworld?" 

This  position  which  is  thus  assumed  at  the  beginning, 
namely:  that  the  gods  traverse  heaven  only,  is  not  true;  for 
the  universe  is  full  of  them.  But  thou  then  demandest :  "How 
is  it  that  although  possessing  power  unlimited,  undivided  and 
unrestricted,  some  of  them  are  mentioned  as  being  of  the  water 
and  of  the  atmosphere,  and  that  others  are  allotted  by  definite 
limitation  to  different  places  and  distinct  parts  of  bodies? 
If  they  are  actually  separated  by  circumscribed  limitations 
of  parts,  and  according  to  diversities  of  places  and  subject- 
bodies,  how  will  there  be  any  union  of  them  one  to  another  ? ' ' 

One  most  excellent  solution  of  all  these  and  an  infinite 
number  of  similar  questions  is  by  a  survey  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  gods  are  allotted. 

This,  then,  is  the  explanation :  "Whether  the  allotment  be 
to  certain  parts  of  the  universe,  as  to  heaven  or  earth,  whether 
to  holy  cities  and  regions,  whether  to  certain  temple-precincts 
or  sacred  images,  the  divine  irradiation  shines  upon  them  all 
from  the  outside,  just  as  the  sun  illuminates  every  object  from 
without  with  his  rays.  Hence,  as  the  light  encompasses  the 
objects  that  it  illuminates,  so  also  the  power  of  the  gods  com- 
prehends from  without  those  that  participate  of  it.  In  like 
manner,  also,  as  the  light  of  the  sun  is  present  in  the  air  with- 
out being  combined  with  it — and  it  is  evident  that  there  is 
nothing  left  in  the  air  when  the  illuminating  agent  is  removed, 
although  warmth  is  still  present  when  the  heating  has  entirely 
ceased — so  also  the  light  of  the  gods  shines  while  entirely 
separate  from  the  objects  illuminated,  and,  being  firmly  estab- 
lished in  itself,  makes  its  way  through  all  existing  things. 

Still  further,  the  light  that  is  the  object  of  perception  is 
one,  continuous,  and  everywhere  the  same  entirety;  so  that  it 
is  not  possible  for  a  part  of  it  to  be  cut  off  by  itself,  or  to  be 
enclosed  in  a  circle,  or  at  any  time  to  remove  itself  from  the 
source  of  illumination.  According  to  the  same  principles, 
therefore,  the  whole  universe,  being  susceptible  of  division, 
is  distinguished  with  reference  to  the  one  and  indivisible  light 
of  the  gods.    In  short,  this  light  is  one  and  the  same  every- 


48  THE  EGYPTIAN  MYSTERIES 

where,  and  is  not  only  present,  undivided,  with  all  things  that 
are  capable  of  participating  of  it,  but  it,  likewise,  by  an  abso- 
lute power  and  by  an  infinite  superiority,  fills  all  things,  as  a 
cause,  joins  them  together  in  itself,  unites  them  everywhere 
with  itself,  and  combines  the  ends  with  the  beginnings.  The 
whole  heaven,  including  with  it  the  universe  imitating  this, 
goes  around  in  a  circular  revolution,  unites  all  to  itself,  and 
leads  the  elements  whirling  in  a  circle ;  and  all  things  being  in 
one  another,  and  borne  toward  one  another,  it  holds  them 
together  and  defines  their  equal  proportions ;  and  guiding  them 
to  the  remotest  distances,  makes  the  ends  combine  with  the 
beginnings — as,  for  example,  the  earth  with  the  sky — and  ef- 
fects a  sole  connection  and  accord  of  wholes  with  wholes. 

Who,  then,  that  contemplates  the  visible  image  of  the  gods 
thus  united  as  one*  will  not  have  too  much  reverence  for  the 
gods,  its  causes,  to  entertain  a  different  judgment  and  to  intro- 
duce among  them  artificial  divisions,  arbitrary  distinctions, 
and  corporeal  outlines  ?  I,  for  one,  do  not  think  that  any  one 
would  be  so  disposed.  For  if  there  is  neither  any  analogy, 
nor  scheme  of  proportion,  nor  interblending  in  respect  to 
power  or  simple  energy  of  that  which  is  set  in  order  with  that 
which  sets  in  order, t  then  I  say  that  there  is  nothing  existing 
in  it,  either  of  extension  or  in  regard  to  distance,  or  of  encom- 
passing locally,  or  of  division  by  due  setting  apart,  or  of  any 
other  such  natural  equalizing  of  qualities  in  the  presence  of 
the  gods  with  beings  inferior  in  their  nature.  For  in  natures 
that  are  homogeneous  in  essence  and  power,  or  that  are  in 
some  manner  of  similar  form  or  alike  in  race,  there  can  be 
perceived  an  encompassing  or  holding  fast.  But  in  the  case 
of  those  that  are  totally  exempt  from  all  these  conditions,  what 


*Plato  affirms  this  in  the  Epinomis.  "It  is  Heaven  that  we  should 
honor,"  says  he;  "it  is  the  cause  of  all  benefits  to  us."  Abammon,  doubt- 
less, alludes  to  Ea.  of  the  Egyptian  Pantheon,  who  was  regarded  as 
the  source  of  light,  and  also  as  being  the  whole  heaven  united  as  one 
eikon  and  personality. 

fProklos  reiterates  this  declaration,  so  often  insisted  upon,  that 
the  superior  nature  and  essence  can  receive  nothing  from  one  that  is 
inferior. 


THE  SUPERIOR  BEINGS  49 

opposing  circumstance  in  respect  to  these  things,  or  pathways 
through  them  all,  or  separate  outline,  or  encompassing  in  some 
prescribed  space,  or  anything  of  this  kind,  can  be  justly  con- 
ceived? On  the  other  hand,  I  think  that  they  who  are  par- 
takers of  the  gods*  are,  every  one,  of  such  a  nature  as  to  par- 
take of  them  according  to  their  own  intrinsic  quality,  some  as 
of  the  aether,  others  as  of  the  atmosphere,  and  others  as  of 
the  water;  which  the  technique  of  the  Divine  Performances 
recognizes, t  and  so  makes  use  of  the  adaptations  and  invoca- 
tions according  to  such  a  classification. 

So  much  may  be  stated  in  regard  to  the  distribution  of  the 
superior  races  in  the  world. 

SUPERIOR  BEINGS  NOT  CLASSIFIED  AS  PASSIVE  AND  IMPASSIBLE 

After  these  distinctions  thou  suggestest  another  classifica- 
tion on  thy  own  account,  and  separatest  the  essences  of  the 
superior  races  by  the  differentiation  of  "passive  and  impass- 
ible." I  do  not,  however,  by  any  means  accept  this  classifi- 
cation. For  no  one  of  the  superior  races  is  passive,  nor  yet  is  it 
impassible  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  thus  contradistinguished 
from  any  that  is  susceptible,  as  being  adapted  by  nature 
to  receive  impressions,  or  as  freed  from  them  through  inherent 
virtue  or  some  other  excellent  condition.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  is  on  this  account,  because  they  are  entirely  exempt  from 
the  inconsistency  of  being  either  passive  or  not  passive,  be- 
cause they  are  in  no  way  susceptible  to  impression,  and  be- 
cause they  are  unchangeably  fixed  in  regard  to  essence,  that 
I  set  them  down  in  all  these  respects  as  impassive  and  un- 
changeable. 

Consider,  if  thou  art  willing,  the  last  one  of  the  divine 
races,  the  soul  pure  from  the  defilement  of  bodies.    Being 


intelligent  readers  will  understand  from  what  has  been  said,  that 
as  the  gods  are  spiritual  essences,  the  partaking  of  them,  or,  in  other 
words,  of  their  irradiation,  is  analogous  to  the  partaking  of  light.  The 
luminance  itself  is  in  no  way  affected,  but  the  partaker  is  filled  and 
pervaded  by  it. 

fThis  is  the  Theurgic  Rite.  "This  Theurgy,"  says  Thomas  Taylor, 
"is,  doubtless,  the  same  as  the  'Magic  of  Zoroaster,'  which  was  no  'black 
art/  but  a  peculiar  mode  of  worship." 


50  THE  EGYPTIAN  MYSTERIES 

superior  to  the  realm  of  nature,  and  living  the  unbegotten 
life,  what  does  it  want  of  the  generated  life  with  sensual  pleas- 
ure and  of  the  restoration  thereby  into  the  realm  of  nature?* 
Being  outside  of  everything  corporeal,  and  of  the  nature  which 
is  divisible  in  respect  to  the  body,  and  being  likewise  entirely 
separate  from  the  accord  in  the  soul  which  goes  down  into 
the  body,  why  is  it  to  participate  of  the  pain  that  leads  to 
decay  and  dissolution  of  the  structure  of  the  body?  On  the 
contrary,  it  has  no  occasion  for  the  susceptibilities  which  are 
forerunners  of  sensation,  for  it  is  neither  held  at  all  in  a  body 
nor  in  any  way  environed  by  it  so  as  to  have  occasion  for  bodily 
organs  in  order  to  perceive  different  bodies  outside  of  these 
organs.  In  short,  however,  being  indivisible,  remaining  in  the 
one  same  form,  being  essentially  incorporeal,  and  having  noth- 
ing in  common  with  the  generating  and  susceptible  body,  it 
can  be  affected  by  nothing  in  regard  to  classification  or  trans- 
formation, nor  in  short  has  it  any  concern  whatever  with 
change  or  condition. 

But  on  the  other  hand,  whenever  the  soul  comes  into  the 
body  it  is  not  itself,  nor  are  the  rational  faculties  which  it 
imparts  to  the  body  susceptible  to  impression. t  For  these  are 
simple  and  single  ideals,  not  admitting  any  disturbing  element 
or  entrancement,  so  far  as  relates  to  them.  It  is,  therefore, 
the  something  that  yet  remains  that  is  the  cause  of  such  expe 
rience  to  the  composite  nature.  Nevertheless,  the  cause  is  not 
in  any  way  the  same  as  the  effect. J     Hence,  the  Soul  being 


*The  soul  was  called  by  Damaskios,  our  last  echo  of  Divinity.  In 
the  mundane  region  it  was  considered  as  not  a  whole  and  united  essence, 
but  as  divided  into  qualities  and  traits  of  character. 

fPlotinos,  using  the  comparison  that  the  workman  does  not  con- 
tract the  imperfections  of  his  tools,  remarks  that  it  is  not  necessary  that 
the  soul  shall  be  itself  affected  by  the  conditions  of  the  body.  It  simply 
uses  the  body  as  its  instrument.  It  is  incorporeal,  and  hence  the  pas- 
sions and  susceptibilities  of  the  body  do  not  penetrate  into  its  substance, 
but  only  into  its  powers  and  energies. 

JProklos  illustrates  this  by  the  analogy  of  a  man  viewing  his  own 
image  in  a  stream  of  water.  He  is  unchanged  in  his  own  person  and 
individuality,  but  the  image  exhibits  great  perturbation.  So  the  soul 
contemplates  its  own  image  as  reflected  in  the  body,  and  though  it  is 
itself  impassible  and  unaffected,  it  may  be  perplexed  by  the  incidental 
disturbances. 


THE  SUPERIOK  BEINGS  51 

the  first  genesis  and  origin  of  the  composite  living  beings  that 
come  into  existence  and  pass  to  dissolution,  is  itself,  so  far 
as  relates  to  itself,  unbegotten  and  imperishable ;  so  also  those 
that  participate  of  the  soul  are  susceptible  to  impression  and 
do  not  possess  life  and  essence  in  their  completeness,  but  are 
entangled  in  the  indefiniteness  and  alien  conditions  of  the 
realm  of  matter.*  Yet  the  soul,  as  relates  to  itself,  is  unchange- 
able, as  being  in  its  own  essence  superior  to  impression,  and 
as  neither  being  moved  by  any  preference  inclining  in  both 
directions  (passiveness  and  impassibility),  nor  as  receiving 
an  acquired  versatility  in  the  participating  of  habitude  and 
power. 

Since,  therefore,  we  have  shown,  in  respect  to  the  last  race 
of  the  superior  orders,  namely,  the  soul,  that  it  is  impossible 
for  it  to  participate  in  any  passive  or  impressionable  con- 
dition, how  is  it  proper  to  attribute  this  participation  to  de- 
mons and  half -gods  who  are  sempiternal  and  follow  the  gods, 
and  themselves  according  to  their  respective  grades  preserve, 
and  likewise  in  their  several  places  make  the  regular  arrange- 
ment of  the  divine  beings  always  complete,  and  do  not  leave 
any  unoccupied  space  between  the  different  orders  ?  For  this 
we  know  for  certain :  that  the  passive  condition  is  not  only 
undisciplined  but  also  discordant  and  unstable,  never  being 
in  any  case  its  own  master,  but  attached  to  that  by  which  it 
is  held  fast  and  to  which  it  is  subservient  in  reference  to  the 
sphere  of  generated  existence.  This  condition  of  passiveness, 
therefore,  pertains  to  some  other  race  rather  than  to  one  al- 
ways existing  and  allied  to  the  gods,  not  only  maintaining  the 
same  arrangement  but  likewise  going  around  the  same  circuit 
with  them.  Hence,  therefore,  the  demons,  and  all  who  rank 
with  them  after  the  superior  races,  are  impassible. 


♦Greek,  iiXrj^  wood,  rubbish;  the  negative  or  inert  quality  called 
matter,  from  which  natural  objects  proceed.  Aristotle  first  adopted 
the  term.  Plato,  unable  to  conceive  of  matter  as  substance  per  se,  made 
use  of  terms  signifying  the  "nurse"  and  the  " receptacle"  or  passive 
force.  The  term  "matter"  is  from  materia,  the  mother-principle.  The 
phrase  "realm  of  matter"  is  adopted  here,  as  the  term  implies  a  depart- 
ment in  the  universe,  and  not  simply  matter  itself. 


IV 
RITES,  SYMBOLS  AND  OFFERINGS 


CHAPTER  IV 

RITES,  SYMBOLS  AND  OFFERINGS 

"Why  then,  are  many  ceremonies  performed  histrionically 
in  the  Sacred  Rites,  as  though  the  gods  were  moved  by  pas- 
sion?" 

I  think  that  this  is  said  without  an  intelligent  understand- 
ing in  regard  to  the  Sacerdotal  technique  of  the  Mysteries. 
For  of  the  ceremonies  performed  from  time  to  time  in  the 
Sacred  Rites,  some  have  an  ineffable  cause  and  a  divine  prin- 
ciple; others  are  consecrated  to  the  Superior  beings  from 
eternity  as  symbols  are  consecrated*;  others  preserve  some 
other  image,  just  as  Nature,  the  Supreme  Genetrix  also  from 
invisible  concepts,  molds  visible  semblances.  Others  are 
brought  forward  from  some  motive  of  veneration,!  or  they 
are  endeavors  at  figurative  representation,  or  some  concept 
of  a  family  relationship.  Some  prepare  us  for  something  that 
is  useful,  or  in  some  way  purify  and  free  our  human  pas- 
sions, or  turn  away  some  of  the  evils  that  may  be  impending 
over  us.  Yet  it  may  not  be  admitted  that  any  part  of  the 
Holy  Observance  is  performed  to  the  gods  or  demons  as 
to  impressionable  beings.  For  the  essence  which  is  subjec- 
tively everlasting  and  incorporeal  is  not  of  a  nature  to  per- 
mit any  change  from  the  bodies  (offered  at  the  Rites. t 

♦Symbols  constituted  a  prominent  feature  in  the  ancient  religious 
worship.  They  were  undoubtedly  to  a  large  extent  fetishes,  there  being 
a  measure  of  the  essence  and  operation  of  the  deity  supposed  to  exist  in 
them.  The  Egyptian,  and  indeed  the  whole  Oriental  worship  consisted 
of  them,  and  even  at  the  present  time,  there  is  no  ritual  that  is  without 
them.  But  then,  human  language  is  made  up  of  symbols  and  repre- 
sentative sounds. 

fThis  is  distinctly  denied  in  Part  V,  Chapter  VI. 

tSee  Part  V,  Chapters  II  and  IV. 

55 


56  THE  EGYPTIAN  MYSTERIES 

Not  even  though  it  be  admitted  that  it  has  use  especially 
of  such  a  kind,  would  it  ever  need  it  from  human  beings  in 
a  religious  service  of  this  kind.  It  is  supplied  from  itself, 
and  from  the  nature  (or  feminine  principle)  of  the  world,  and 
from  the  abundance  which  is  in  the  genesis  (or  generative 
energy) ;  and  if  it  is  permissible  to  say  this  likewise,  it  re- 
ceives a  sufficiency  before  it  can  be  in  any  want,  through  the 
unfailing  complete  supply  of  the  world  and  its  own  ample 
abundance,  and  because  all  the  superior  races  are  fully  sup- 
plied with  the  good  things  pertaining  to  them  respectively. 
Let  there  be,  therefore,  this  general  encouragement  for  us 
in  regard  to  the  worship  of  the  uncontaminate  races,  that 
they  are  likewise  affiliated  by  kindred  relationship  to  the 
beings  that  are  otherwise  superior  to  us,  and  on  this  account 
the  pure  are  attracted  to  the  pure,  and  the  impassive  to  the 
impassive. 

Following  every  point  in  its  turn,  we  remark  that  the 
planting  of  " phallic  images"  is  a  special  representing  of  the 
procreative  power  by  conventional  symbols,  and  that  we  re- 
gard this  practice  as  an  invocation  to  the  generative  energy 
of  the  universe.  On  this  account  many  of  these  images  are 
consecrated  in  the  spring,  when  all  the  world  is  receiving 
from  the  gods  the  prolific  force  of  the  whole  creation.* 


*The  custom  here  described  was  universal  in  ancient  times,  and 
it  is  still  found  in  parts  of  India.  Its  remains  also  exist  in  architecture 
and  ornamentation.  In  the  worship  of  the  Ashera  and  Venus  of  Eryx, 
and  of  the  Great  Mother  in  Syria  and  Western  Asia,  the  observances 
were  carried  to  greater  extremes.  King  Asa  of  Judea  is  said  to  have 
deposed  his  mother,  Maacha,  from  royal  dignity  for  her  participation — 
"because  she  made  a  phallos  to  an  Ashera,"  I  Kings  X V :  XIII.  It  has 
been  generally  believed  that  the  Festivals  and  Initiatory,  or  Perfective 
Rites,  of  the  different  countries,  included  the  same  feature,  as  indeed, 
is  here  admitted.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  before  any  hasty 
judgment,  that  the  different  faiths  had  their  two  sides,  like  the  right 
or  the  left,  and  that  worshippers  regarded  them  and  took  part  in  them 
according  to  their  inherent  disposition.  Thus,  in  India,  there  are  the 
Asceticsiva-worshippers,  and  the  Saktas,  to  this  day.  In  this  way  the 
Mysteries  presented  themes  for  the  highest  veneration,  as  well  as  phases 
that  are  esteemed  as  gross  and  lascivious.  Every  curious  person,  there- 
fore, sees  in  them  what  he  has  eyes  to  see,  and  is  often  blind  to  the  rest. 


RITES,  SYMBOLS  AND  OFFERINGS  57 

I  think,  however,  that  the  immodest  language  to  which  you 
refer,  affords  an  illustration  of  the  absence  of  moral  virtues* 
in  the  realm  of  matter,  and  the  unseemly  rudeness  existing 
beforehand  with  the  unformed  elements  that  are  to  be  or- 
ganized. These  being  utterly  destitute  of  orderly  arrange- 
ment, are  passionately  eager  for  it,  so  to  speak,  to  such  a 
degree  as  they  are  conscious  of  the  unbecoming  condition  of 
things  around  themselves.  Hence,  again,  perceiving  from 
the  speaking  of  vile  utterances,  what  is  vile,  they  follow  to  the 
(divine)  sources  of  the  ideals  and  moral  beauties. 

They  accordingly  not  only  turn  aside  from  evil  action,  but 
through  the  words,  it  is  manifest  in  its  forms  and  changes 
the  impulse  to  a  contrary  direction.f 

There  is,  however,  still  another  reason  of  analogous  char- 
acter for  these  customs.  The  powers  of  the  human  passions 
that  are  in  us,  when  they  are  barred  on  every  side,  become 
more  vehement :  but  when  they  are  brought  into  activity  with 
moderation  and  reasonable  measure,  they  are  sufficiently  de- 
lighted and  satisfied,  and  becoming  pure  in  consequence, 
are  won  over  and  set  at  rest.  In  the  same  way,  likewise,  in 
comedy  and  tragedy,  when  we  behold  the  emotions  of  others, 
we  repress  our  own,  make  them  more  moderate  and  are  puri- 


*  Greek,  KaX&v  from  KaXbv,  good,  beauty,  moral  virtue,  ex* 
cellence.  Mr.  M.  W.  Hazeltine,  in  the  New  York  Sun,  remarks  upon 
this  apparent  confounding  of  moral  with  physical  beauty,  which  this 
word  exhibits,  that  "the  ancients  had  not  that  conception  which  forms 
the  basis  and  aim  of  ^Esthetics  in  our  time.  To  a  Greek,  if  a  thing 
was  beautiful  it  was  good,  and  if  it  was  good  it  was  beautiful;  that, 
at  least,  was  the  prevailing  attitude  of  the  Hellenic  mind." 

fThese  opinions  were  anciently  entertained,  the  universe  itself  being 
regarded  not  as  a  fabric  but  as  a  birth,  a  creation  or  genesis,  and  evo- 
lution. But  the  philosophers  generally  disapproved  of  the  doleful  rites 
and  immodest  speech.  Plutarch  enumerates  the  various  practices,  such 
as  the  eating  of  raw  flesh,  the  days  of  fasting  and  mourning  for  the 
slain  divinity,  (Matthew  XI,  16;  Amos  VIII,  10)  and  the  uttering  of 
filthy  and  unseemly  language.  He  explains  that  they  were  "not  in  honor 
of  the  gods,  but  rather  to  avert,  mollify  and  appease  the  wrath  of  evil 
demons."  The  Emperor  Julian,  however,  forbade  the  using  of  words  that 
should  not  be  spoken  or  heard. 


58  INVOCATIONS 

fied  from  them.  In  the  Sacred  Bites,  also,  we  are,  by  certain 
spectacles  and  relations  of  ugly  things,  delivered  from  the 
harm  that  is  likely  to  befall  through  the  events  represented 
by  them.* 

Things  of  this  character  are  brought  into  use,  therefore, 
for  the  healing  of  the  soul  within  us,  the  moderating  of  the 
evils  which  have  become  natural  to  it  through  the  genesis  t 
or  nativity,  and  likewise  for  the  sake  of  its  unloosing  and 
deliverance  from  its  bonds.  On  this  account,  probably, 
Herakleitos  names  them  iiRemedies"X  as  being  cures  for  ter- 
rible maladies,  and  restoring  the  souls  sound  from  the  ex- 
periences incident  in  the  generated  life. 

WHAT  THE  INVOCATIONS  ACCOMPLISH 

But  the  objection  is  also  made :  "The  invocations  are  made 
as  to  gods  that  are  impressionable  beings;  so  that  it  is  im- 
plied that  not  the  demons  only  are  impressionable,  but  the 
gods  likewise." 

This,  however,  is  not  as  thou  hast  supposed.  For  the  il- 
lumination which  is  present  through  the  invocations  is  self- 


*"This  doctrine  is  so  rational,"  says  Mr.  Thomas  Taylor,  "that  it 
can  never  be  objected  to  by  any  but  quacks  in  philosophy  and  religion. 
For  as  he  is  nothing  more  than  a  quack  in  medicine  who  endeavors  to 
remove  a  latent  bodily  disease  before  he  has  called  it  forth  externally, 
and  by  this  means  diminished  its  fury,  so  he  is  nothing  more  than  a 
pretender  in  philosophy,  who  attempts  to  remove  the  passions  by  violent 
repression,  instead  of  moderate  compliance  and  gentle  persuasion." 

fBy  the  genesis  or  generation,  Plutarch  explains  Plato  to  mean 
"only  that  substance  or  underlying  principle  which  is  subject  to  change 
and  motion,  placed  between  the  forming  cause  and  the  thing  formed, 
transmitting  hither  those  shapes  and  figures  which  have  been  contrived 
and  modelled"  in  the  eternal  world.  Hence  it  means  more  than  mere 
procreating,  it  is  no  less  than  transition  from  eternity  where  the  soul 
is  native,  into  the  region  of  time  and  space,  where  it  is  only  a  sojourner. 

J  The  Library  of  Alexandria  bore  the  inscription  of  "Remedies  for 
the  Soul."  A  similar  term  is  said  to  have  been  placed  over  the  col- 
lection of  Papyri  in  the  "House  of  Seti"  at  Thebes,  in  Egypt. 


THE  EGYPTIAN  MYSTERIES  59 

appearing  and  self-subsisting;  it  is  also  far  removed  from 
the  being  attracted  downward,  and  goes  forth  into  manifesta- 
tion through  the  divine  energy  and  perfection,  and  it  excels 
voluntary  choice  and  activity  by  so  far  as  the  Divine  Pur- 
pose of  the  Absolute  Goodness  is  superior  to  the  deliberately 
chosen  of  life.  By  such  a  purpose,  therefore,  the  gods  being 
gracious  and  propitious,  give  forth  light  abundantly  to  the 
Theurgists,  both  calling  their  souls  upward  into  themselves, 
providing  for  them  union  to  themselves  in  the  Chorus,*  and 
accustoming  them,  while  they  are  still  in  the  body,  to  hold 
themselves  aloof  from  corporeal  things,  and  likewise  to  be  led 
up  to  their  own  eternal  and  noetic  First  Cause,  f 

From  these  Performances^'  it  is  plain,  that  what  we  are 
now  discoursing  about  is  the  Safe  Return  of  the  Soul,  for 
while  contemplating  the  Blessed  Spectacles,§  the  soul  re- 
ciprocates another  life,  is  linked  with  another  energy,  and 
rightly  viewing  the  matter,  it  seems  to  be  not  even  a  human, 


*  Plato  describes  this  chorus  in  the  Phaidros.  "Divine  beauty  was 
then  splendid  to  the  view,"  says  he,  "when  we,  in  company  with  Zeus, 
and  others  with  other  gods,  beheld  together  with  the  Blessed  Chorus,  the 
divine  Spectacle  and  were  initiated  into  the  Perfective  Rites,  which  are 
rightly  called  most  happy.  Being  ourselves  entire  and  unaffected  by  the 
evils  which  await  us  in  the  Aftertime,  we  took  part  in  the  Orgiac  Drama, 
and  having  become  both  Mystics  and  Beholders  (mystse  and  epoptae)  we 
beheld  in  the  pure  light,  apparitions  that  were  complete,  unique,  calm 
and  felicitous — being  ourselves  pure  from  earthly  contamination  and  not 
encompassed  in  this  investiture  which  we  now  call  'Body'  and  by  which 
we  are  carried  about,  fastened  like  an  oyster  to  his  shell." 

f  Sokrates  in  his  last  discourse  remarks  that  "While  we  live  we  shall 
approach  nearest  to  the  superior  knowledge  if  we  hold  no  partnership 
with  the  body,  except  what  absolute  necessity  requires,  and  do  not  permit 
ourselves  to  be  tainted  by  its  nature,  but  keep  ourselves  un  contaminated 
by  it  till  God  himself  shall  release  us."  This  is  what  a  later  poet  has 
portrayed  as  living  above  while  in  the  world. 

X  The  dramas  or  performances  of  the  Mystic  or  Theurgic  Rites  and 
their  ulterior  significance  are  here  denoted — the  experiences  of  the  Soul 
and  its  return  to  the  Eternal  World,  as  it  enters  into  the  conditions 
of  worldly  existence.  The  Egyptian  "Book  of  the  Dead"  treats  of  the 
same  matters. 

$The  histrionic  scenes  and  ceremonies  which  were  exhibited  to  the 
Beholders  of  the  Rites. 


60  INVOCATIONS 

for  the  most  blessed  energy  of  the  gods.  If,  indeed,  the  up- 
ward way  through  the  invocations  effects  for  the  priests  a 
purifying  of  the  passions,  a  release  from  the  condition  of 
generated  life,  and  likewise  a  union  to  the  Divine  First  Cause, 
why,  indeed,  does  any  one  impute  to  it  any  of  the  passions?* 
For  such  invocation  does  not  draw  down  beings  that  are  im- 
passive and  pure,  to  that  which  is  susceptible  and  impure. 
On  the  contrary,  it  makes  us  who  had  become  impressionable 
through  the  generated  life,  pure  and  steadfast. t 

On  the  other  hand,  even  the  " favorable  inclinations"  do 
not  bring  the  priests  into  union  with  the  gods  through  a 
passive  condition,  but  they  open  the  way  for  an  indissoluble 
communion  through  the  attraction  which  binds  the  universe 
together.  It  is  by  no  means,  as  the  term  seems  to  imply, 
an  inclining  of  the  mind  of  the  gods  to  human  beings,  but  on 
the  contrary,  as  the  truth  itself  will  teach  the  adapting  of  the 
human  intelligence  to  the  participating  of  the  gods,  leading 
it  upward  to  them,  and  bringing  it  into  accord  through  per- 
suasive harmonies.  Hence,  both  the  reverend  names  of  the 
gods,  and  the  other  divine  symbols,  being  of  an  elevating 
tendency,  are  able  to  connect  the  invocation  with  the  gods.  X 


♦The  Chaldcean  Oracles  reiterate  this  sentiment. 

"The  soul  of  articulate-speaking  men  will  in  some  way  bring  God 
into  itself. 

"  Holding  fellowship  with  nothing  mortal,  it  is  all  intoxicated  with 
God." 

fThis  is  explained  by  the  hicrophant  in  Moore's  romance,  The 
Epicurean.  The  aim  of  the  initiation  and  "blessed  spectacle"  is  thus 
set  forth;  "to  retrieve  the  ruin  of  the  blessed  soul,  to  clear  away  ^  from 
around  her  the  clouds  of  earth,  and,  restoring  her  lost  wings,  facilitate 
her  return  to  Heaven — such  is  the  great  task  of  our  religion,  and  such 
the  triumph  of  those  Divine  Mysteries,  in  wbose  inmost  depths  the  life 
and  essence  of  our  holy  religion  is  treasured." 

J  The  names  of  the  gods  in  the  ancient  Skythic  and  Euphratean 
languages  were  believed  to  possess  some  inherent  virtue  as  well  as  charm. 
Hence  the  Oracle  gives  the  injunction : 

"Never  change  the  barbarous  names; 
For  among  them  are  terms  God-given, 
That  have  ineffable  virtue  in  Sacred  Rites." 


KITES  61 

Proklos  also  declares  that  "the  gods  are  readily  persuaded 
by  invocations  and  enable  the  initiants  to  behold  perfect,  tran- 
quil, and  genuine  spectacles.'' 

PROPITIATORY  RITES 

What  is  more,  "the  propitiations  of  anger"  will  be  plain 
enough  if  we  learn  thoroughly  what  the  anger  of  the  gods 
really  is.  It  certainly  is  not,  as  some  imagine,  an  inveterate 
and  persistent  rage.  On  the  contrary,  so  far  as  the  matter 
relates  to  the  gods,  it  is  a  turning  away  from  their  beneficent 
guardianship.  We  ourselves  turn  away  from  this  just  as  we 
bring  darkness  upon  ourselves  by  shutting  away  the  light  at 
noon-day  and  so  rob  ourselves  of  the  priceless  gift  of  the  gods. 
Hence  the  "propitiation"  can  turn  us  to  the  participation  of 
the  superior  nature,*  lead  us  to  the  guardian  fellowship  of  the 
gods,  which  we  had  cast  from  us,  and  bind  to  each  other  har- 
moniously both  those  participating  and  the  essences  partici- 
pated. Hence  so  far  is  it  from  accomplishing  its  particular 
work  through  a  passive  condition,  that  it  leads  us  to  desist 
from  any  passionate  and  disorderly  turning  away  from  the 
gods. 

Nevertheless,  because  evil  is  present  in  the  regions  of  the 
earth,f  the  "expiatory  sacrifices"  act  as  a  remedy  and  pre- 
pare us  so  that  no  change  or  any  passive  condition  may  occur 
with  reference  to  us.  Hence,  whether  it  is  through  the  gods 
or  demons  that  a  result  of  this  kind  takes  place,  it  appeals 
to  them  as  helpers,  averters  of  evil,  and  as  saviors,  and 
through  them  turns  away  every  harm  that  may  be  liable  to 
follow  from  what  has  occurred.  Let  it  be  understood  that 
those  superior  powers  that  turn  away  the  blows  incident  to 
the  realm  of  nativity  and  nature,  are  not  preventing  them 
in  any  way  through  passive  conditions. 

Indeed,  if  anyone  has  imagined  that  the  intercepting  of 


♦Epistle  of  Peter  II,  1,  4,  "That  by  these  ye  might  be  partakers  or 
communicants  of  the  divine  nature." 

fPlato:  Theaetetos.  "It  is  necessary  that  there  should  be  always 
something  opposed  to  God;  and  it  cannot  be  seated  among  the  gods, 
but  of  necessity  hovers  around  this  mortal  nature  and  this  region  of 
earth." 


62  NECESSITIES 

the  protecting  influence  may  bring  on  some  chance  injury,  the 
endeavor  at  persuading  of  the  Superior  races  "through  the 
expiatory  sacrifices "  recalling  them  to  their  generosity,  and 
taking  away  the  sense  of  privation,  may  be  in  every  respect 
pure  and  unchangeable.* 

"THE  NECESSITIES  OF  THE  GODS" 

Further  still,  we  will  consider  what  are  called  "the  ne- 
cessities of  the  gods."  The  whole  fact  is  this:  The  "ne- 
cessities" are  peculiarities  of  the  gods,  and  exist  as  pertaining 
to  gods,  not  indeed  as  from  without,  nor  as  from  compulsion ; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  as  the  goodness  is  of  use  from  necessity, 
so  also  are  they  likewise  in  every  particular  and  they  are 
not  in  any  respect  otherwise  inclined.  Such  necessity  is  itself 
combined  with  a  purpose  ideally  good  and  is  the  beloved  con- 
sort of  Love.f 

It  is  not  only  the  same  and  unalterable  in  the  order  per- 
taining to  the  gods,  but  because  it  is  at  the  same  time,  and 
in  like  manner,  circumscribed  in  one  boundary,  it  abides  in 
this  and  never  goes  out  of  it.  For  all  these  reasons  the  very 
contrary  takes  place  to  what  was  inferred.  If  in  Theurgy 
there  are  really  genuine  powers  of  such  a  character  as  we 
have  set  forth,  the  conclusion  is  inevitable  that  the  Divine 
Being  is  proof  against  enchantment,  impassive  and  not  to  be 
compelled. 


*It  was  held  that  the  vital  emanation  from  the  blood  of  the  sac- 
rificed animals  was  invigorating  to  spiritual  beings  (Odyssey,  Book 
XI).  But  Plutarch  is  severe  about  it.  He  affirms  that  the  murderous 
and  lascivious  customs  at  the  festivals  only  served  "to  avert  and  appease 
the  malice  of  certain  evil  spirits,  or  to  satisfy  the  violent  and  raging  lusts 
of  some  that  either  could  not,  or  would  not,  enjoy  with  their  bodies  or 
by  their  bodies."  Such,  he  declared,  bring  plagues  and  famine  into 
towns,  raise  wars  and  dissensions,  till  such  time  as  they  obtain  and  enjoy 
that  which  they  love. 

fProklos  affirms  that  the  Divine  Necessity  was  always  coincident 
with  the  Divine  Will  and  Purpose.  Plato  explains  it  as  a  habitude  of  the 
Efficient  Cause  or  Author  of  Existence  and  Matter.  Thus,  also,  there  is 
a  necessity  in  the  thoughts  and  actions  of  human  beings,  yet  the  soul 
is  self-moving,  and  so  is  its  own  "Cause." 


SUPPLICATIONS  63 


SUPPLICATIONS  AND  THEIR  UTILITY 

Nevertheless,  after  this,  thou  passest  over  to  another  clas- 
sification of  gods  as  contrasted  with  demons.  For  thou  re- 
markest  that  "gods  are  pure  mental  essences,"  proposing  the 
opinion  as  the  basis  of  an  argument,  or  telling  it  as  acceptable 
to  certain  individuals.  Then  thou  addest:  "that  the  demons 
are  psychic  beings,  participating  of  mind." 

It  is  not  hidden  from  me  that  these  notions  are  entertained 
by  many  of  the  Grecian  philosophers.*  Nevertheless,  I  do 
not  think  it  proper  to  hide  from  thee  the  manifest  truth,  for 
all  opinions  of  such  a  character  are  somewhat  confusing. 
They  carry  the  attention  from  demons  to  souls,  for  these  are 
also  partakers  of  mind;  and  they  wander  from  the  gods  to 
mind  that  is  non-material  in  respect  to  operation  which  the 
gods  excel  in  every  particular.  Why,  then,  should  we  at- 
tribute these  peculiarities  to  them,  which  are  by  no  means  ex- 
clusively theirs?  This  much  will  be  sufficient  in  regard  to 
this  classification.  Otherwise,  so  far  as  it  may  be  thought 
worthy  of  a  mention  of  such  a  kind,  it  is  overmuch.  But  in 
regard  to  the  matters  of  which  thou  art  in  doubt,  they  should 
have  due  attention  inasmuch  as  they  have  to  do  with  the 
sacerdotal  function. 

Having  further  affirmed  that  "pure  mental  essences  are 
not  to  be  charmed  or  mingled  with  things  of  sense,"  thou 
doubtest  whether  it  is  necessary  to  pray  to  them.  On  my  part, 
I  do  not  think  it  necessary  to  pray  to  any  others.  For  that 
something  in  us  that  is  divine,  mental  essence  and  one — or 
mental  alone,  if  you  choose  to  call  it  so — is  then  vividly 
aroused  in  the  prayers,  and  when  it  is  awakened  it  longs  ve- 
hemently for  its  counterpart,  and  becomes  united  to  the  abso- 
lute perfection. 

If,  however,  it  appears  incredible  to  thee  that  an  incor- 
poreal being  hears  a  voice  in  any  way,  and  there  is  need  of 
a  special  sense  and  of  ears  in  order  that  the  things  uttered 


*Thales,  Pythagoras,  Plato  and  the  Stoics  generally  held  that  the 
demons  were  beings  of  a  psychic,  rather  than  of  an  actual  divine  nature, 
riutarch  ascribed  to  them  only  a  limited  term  of  existence. 


64  PRAYERS  AND  RITES 

by  us  in  the  prayers  may  be  heard,  thou  art  voluntarily  for- 
getful of  the  superior  powers  of  the  Primary  Cause,  both  in 
the  perceiving  of  all  things,  and  the  encompassing  of  them 
at  once  in  themselves.  The  gods  certainly  do  not  receive  the 
prayers  in  themselves  through  faculties  of  sense,  or  through 
organs,  but  they  encompass  in  themselves  the  full  purport  and 
energies  of  the  pious  utterances,  and  especially  of  those  which 
happen  through  the  Sacred  Kites  to  have  been  established 
and  brought  into  one  with  the  gods.  For  then  the  Divine  es- 
sence itself  is  simply  present  to  itself,  and  does  not  share  the 
conceptions  in  the  prayers  as  distinct  from  itself. 

But  thou  affirmest  that  "the  supplications  which  are  of- 
fered are  entirely  foreign  to  the  purity  of  mental  substances." 
Not  at  all :  for  it  is  on  this  very  account,  because  we  are  ex- 
celled by  the  gods  in  power,  purity  and  everything,  that  it  is 
most  opportune  to  supplicate  them  even  with  exaggeration  of 
speech.  If  we  are  judged  by  being  compared  to  the  gods,  the 
consciousness  of  our  own  nothingness  causes  us  to  betake  our- 
selves to  supplication,  and  we  are  led  from  supplication  to  the 
object  of  supplication,  and  from  the  familiar  intercourse  we 
acquire  a  similarity  to  it,*  and  from  imperfection  we  quietly 
receive  the  Divine  Perfection.! 

If,  however,  it  is  conceived  that  the  sacerdotal  supplica- 
tions are  inspired  into  human  beings  as  from  the  gods  them- 
selves, that  they  are  symbols  or  tokens  of  the  very  gods,  and 
are  recognized  by  the  gods  alone,  and  have  likewise  after  a 
certain  manner  the  same  power  with  the  gods,  how  may  it  be 
justly  supposed  that  supplication  of  this  kind  is  still  a  mat- 


*It  may  be  observed  in  this  treatise  that  the  divine  personalities 
are  very  commonly  indicated  by  terms  in  the  neuter  gender.  The 
same  is*  true  in  other  instances.  Mr.  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson  was  once 
in  conversation  with  the  Rev.  Cyrus  Bartol,  the  Transcendentalist 
clergyman  of  Boston.  The  latter  mentioned  the  Supreme  Being,  using 
the  masculine  pronoun.     "Why  not  say  'It,'"  Mr.  Emerson  asked? 

f Whatever  we  keep  most  closely  in  thought,  whether  with  favor 
or  aversion,  we  gradually  become  like  in  character.  Paul  wrote  like 
a  philosopher  to  the  Corinthian  disciples.  After  referring  to  Moses 
with  a  vail,  he  adds:  "We  all  with  face  travailed,  looking  on  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  as  in  a  mirror,  are  transformed  from  glory  to  glory 
into  the  same  image  from  his  spirit." 


CLASSIFICATION  65 

ter  of  the  physical  senses,  but  not  divine  and  of  the  higher  in- 
telligence? Or,  what  may  in  any  likelihood  insinuate  itself 
into  it  when  the  most  excellent  human  morals  cannot  be  easily 
made  pure?* 

"But,"  it  is  remarked  by  thee,  "the  things  that  are  of- 
fered are  offered  as  to  sensitive  and  psychic  natures." 
If,  indeed,  they  consisted  of  corporeal  and  composite  pow- 
ers alone,  or  of  such  as  pertained  merely  to  the  service 
of  the  physical  organism,  thou  wouldst  be  correct.  But 
since  the  offerings  partake  also  of  incorporeal  ideals, 
special  discourses  and  simpler  metres,  the  peculiar  af- 
finity of  the  offerings  is  to  be  considered  from  this  point 
alone.  And  if  any  kindred  relationship,  near  or  far  away, 
or  any  resemblance  is  present,  it  is  sufficient  for  the  union 
about  which  we  are  now  discoursing.  For  there  is  not  any- 
thing which  is  in  the  least  degree  akin  to  the  gods,  with  which 
the  gods  are  not  immediately  present  and  conjoined.  It  is 
not,  then,  as  to  '  *  sensitive  or  psychic, ' '  but  actually  to  divine 
ideals  and  to  the  gods  themselves,  that  the  intimate  union  is 
effected  so  far  as  may  be.  Hence  we  have  spoken  sufficiently 
in  opposition  to  this  classification. 

CLASSIFICATION  CRITICISED 

The  next  thing  in  thy  letter  is  the  question,  "Are  gods 
separated  from  demons  by  the  distinction  of  bodied  and  un- 
bodied?"! 

This  distinction  is  much  more  common  than  the  former 
one;  but  it  is  so  far  from  indicating  their  peculiarities  of  es- 
sence, that  it  does  not  even  constitute  a  reasonable  guess  in 


*;In  the  Theurgic  discipline  of  neophytes,  there  were  several  stages 
to  be  surmounted  before  arriving  at  the  degree  denominated  " Perfection" 
or  purity.  We  may  trace  them  in  the  chapter,  as  follows:  1.  The 
coming  to  the  divinity  who  is  supplicated.  2.  The  assimilation  into 
the  likeness  of  the  divinity,  and  3.  Perfection.  In  the  first  of  these 
degrees  the  candidate  was  styled  Most  Excellent ;  in  the  second,  Divine ; 
and  in  the  third,  Theopator;  as  now  being  fully  identified  with  Deity 
itself. 

fOrigen  affirmed  that  the  angels  have  bodies,  and  that  God  alone 
is  a  spiritual  essence,  without  body.  Hence  the  clause  in  the  Confession, 
"without  body,  parts  or  passions." 


66  THE  GODS  OF  THE  SKY 

respect  to  them,  or  anything  incident  to  them.  For  it  is  not 
possible  from  these  things  to  apprehend  intelligently  whether 
they  are  living  beings  or  beings  without  life,  and  whether  they 
are  deprived  of  life  or  do  not  need  it  at  all.  Besides,  also, 
it  is  not  easy  to  form  a  judgment  as  to  how  these  terms  are 
to  be  applied,  whether  in  common  or  in  relation  to  many  dif- 
ferent things.  If  they  are  to  be  applied  in  common,  if  both 
a  piece  of  writing  and  a  period  of  time,  a  god  and  demons 
likewise,  and  also  fire  and  water,  are  under  the  same  class 
as  being  incorporeal,  the  distinction  is  absurd.  If,  however, 
they  are  employed  with  reference  to  the  chief  differences,  why, 
when  thou  speakest  of  incorporeal  things,  dost  thou  indicate 
gods  rather  than  tokens;  or  when  thou  sayest  "body"  why 
should  it  not  be  taken  to  mean  the  Earth  rather  than  demons  ? 
For  this  point  is  not  itself  defined,  whether  they  have  bodies 
as  a  part  of  themselves,  or  are  carried  by  bodies  as  a  vehicle, 
or  make  use  of  them  on  occasion,  or  encompass  them,  or  are 
merely  identical  with  the  body. 

Perhaps,  however,  it  is  not  necessary  to  scrutinize  this  dis- 
tinction critically;  for  thou  dost  not  put  it  forward  as  thy 
own  concept,  but  on  the  contrary,  displayest  it  as  the  con- 
jecture of  others. 

THE  GODS  OF  THE  SKY  NOT  CORPOREAL 

We  will,  therefore,  take  up  in  place  of  this  subject,  the 
matter  in  relation  to  the  present  opinion,  about  which  thou 
seemest  to  be  in  doubt.  For  thou  hast  proposed  this  question : 
"If  only  the  gods  are  incorporeal,  how  shall  the  Sun,  the 
Moon,  and  the  luminaries  visible  in  the  sky,  be  accounted  as 
gods?" 

We  reply:  That  they  are  not  encompassed  by  the  bodies, 
but  that  on  the  contrary,  they  encompass  the  bodies  with  their 
own  divine  lives  and  energies;  also  that  they  are  not  con- 
verted to  the  body,  but  possess  the  body  which  has  been  con- 
verted to  the  divine  cause;  and  that  the  body  does  not  inter- 
fere with  their  spiritual  and  incorporeal  completeness,  nor 
occasion  any  obstacle  to  it  by  intervening.  Hence  it  does  not 
even  require  more  attention,  but  follows  (the  divinities)  after 


THE  GODS  NOT  CORPOREAL  67 

a  manner  spontaneously,  and  by  its  own  motion,  not  needing 
a  self-operating  superintendence,  but  urging  on  by  itself* 
uniformly  by  the  leading  of  the  gods  upward  toward  the  One.f 
If,  however,  it  is  necessary,  we  will  say  this:  The  body 
(of  the  divine  guardian  of  the  star)  in  the  sky  is  very  closely 
akin  to  the  incorporeal  essence  of  the  gods.  For  the  essence 
being  one,  the  other  is  unique ;  that  being  undifferentiate  this 
is  undivided;  that  being  unchangeable  this  is  in  like  manner 
unchanged. J  But  if  even  it  is  taken  for  granted  the  energies 
of  the  gods  are  after  one  ideal,  the  divine  one  in  the  sky  has 
also  a  single  orbit.  Nevertheless  it  also  imitates  their  same- 
ness in  respect  of  a  perpetual  activity  constantly  in  the  same 
manner,  by  the  same  impulses,  according  to  one  law  and  one 
order  of  arrangement;  and  also  the  life  of  the  gods  which  is 
the  life  natural  to  the  bodies  in  the  aether.  Hence,  their  body 
is  not  constituted  of  incongruous  and  different  elements  in 
the  way  that  our  body  is  composed;  nor  does  their  soul  join 
with  the  body  to  bring  out  from  two,  one  living  being.  On 
the  contrary,  the  living  forms  of  the  gods  in  the  sky  are,  in 
every  respect,  similar  and  united,  and  are  likewise  complete, 
uniform  and  uncompounded  through  their  entire  substance. 
For  the  superior  divinities  are  always  excelling  in  these  re- 
spects, and  the  lesser  ones  being  dependent  upon  the  rule  of 
those  that  are  prior  and  never  obtaining  this  rule  for  them- 
selves, the  whole  are  brought  into  one  joint  arrangement  and 
one  common  activity,  and  are  all  of  them,  in  a  manner,  in- 


*Plato  has  explained  this  very  similarity  in  the  Timaios.  "When 
each  of  the  stars  necessary  for  the  constitution  of  Time  had  obtained 
a  motion  adapted  to  its  condition,  and  their  bodies  bound  or  en- 
compassed by  living  chains,  had  become  beings  possessing  life,  and  had 
learned  their  prescribed  duty,  they  pursued  their  course." 

f  That  the  Supreme  Being  is  One  and  Absolute  is  the  leading  prin- 
ciple of  every  ancient  faith,  however  bizarre  and  polytheistic  it  may 
be  esteemed.  Anion,  the  tutelar  god  of  Thebes  in  Egypt,  who  may 
have  been  in  the  mind  of  Abammon  when  writing,  was  denominated: 
"The  One,  the  Maker  of  all  that  have  being."  The  Mysteries  of  Ser- 
Apis  were  favored  by  Iamblichus,  and  the  Rites  of  Mithras  by  Porphyry. 

JPlato  makes  use  of  an  expression  signifying  "not  subject  to  decay 
or  disease;"  Aristotle,  "not  being  increased  or  changed." 


68  THE  GODS  NOT  MALIGNANT 

corporeal  and  wholly  divine.  Hence,  wherefore  the  divine 
ideal  predominates  in  them,  and  implants  through  them  all 
everywhere,  the  same  One  universal  essence. 

So,  therefore,  the  gods  that  are  visible  in  the  sky,  are  like- 
wise all  of  them  in  a  certain  sense,  incorporeal. 

THE  GODS  IN  THE  SKY  NOT  MALIGNANT 

Thy  next  question  raises  a  difficulty  in  another  form: 
"How  is  it  that  some  of  these  gods  are  givers  of  good  and 
others  bring  evil?" 

This  conjecture  is  taken  from  the  casters  of  nativities,  but 
it  falls  short  of  actual  fact  in  every  particular.  For  they  all 
are  not  only  good,  but  in  like  manner,  also  the  causes  and 
authors  of  benefits,  and  they  likewise  all  revolve  (in  their  or- 
bits) with  reference  simply  to  the  One  God,  according  to  the 
beautiful  and  good  alone.  Nevertheless  the  bodies  which  are 
subject  to  them,*  themselves  possess  extraordinary  powers; 
some  of  these  powers  being  firmly  established  in  the  divine 
bodies  themselves ;  but  others  going  forth  from  them  into  the 
productive  principle  of  the  world,  even  into  the  world  itself, 
and  likewise  passing  down  in  proper  order  through  the  whole 
realm  of  generation^  and  extending  without  impediant  even 
to  incomplete  races. 

In  respect,  therefore,  to  the  powers  which  inhere  in  the 
bodies  of  the  divine  ones  in  the  sky,  there  is  no  doubt  that  they 
are  all  similar.    Hence  it  is  left  for  us  that  we  shall  discourse 

These  are  the  astral  globes  which  these  divinities,  being  them- 
selves in  reality  spiritual  essences,  were  supposed  to  encompass  and 
permeate. 

fin  this  sentence  the  feminine  and  masculine  relation,  as  typify- 
ing the  procedure  of  the  divine  operation,  is  very  distinctly  set  forth. 
The  cpvoiq  (phusis)  and  yiveoiq  (genesis)  actually  signify  as  much. 
In  this  treatise,  as  in  other  philosophic  works,  genesis  signifies  the 
descending  of  the  creative  energy  from  the  sempersistent  world  into 
the  sphere  and  condition  of  created  existence,  and  phusis,  or  nature, 
is  the  female  or  productive  agency,  by  which  the  transition  is  ac- 
complished. The  sentence  admits  accordingly  to  be  also  rendered  as 
follows:  "Others  go  forth  from  them  into  the  womb  of  the  world 
(Kcoptog)  even  the  world  itself,  and  likewise  descend  in  due  order 
through  the  whole  generative  process,  continuing,  without  hindrance,  as 
far  as  the  incomplete  races." 


GENERATED  EXISTENCE  69 

upon  those  which  have  been  sent  down  here,  and  which  have 
become  intermingled  with  the  sphere  of  generated  existence. 
They  extend  in  the  same  way  preservation  of  the  universe,  and 
encompass  the  whole  realm  of  generated  existence  after  the 
same  manner.  They  are  both  impassive  and  unchangeable,  al- 
though they  are  present  in  the  changeable  and  passive.  The 
realm  of  generated  existence  being  of  many  kinds  and  con- 
stituted of  things  diverse  in  character,  contends  against  the 
oneness  and  indivisible  essence  of  the  gods  with  its  own  con- 
trary and  factious  nature,  discordantly  and  factiously.  But 
it  admits  the  impassive  essence  after  the  passive  manner ;  and 
in  short  it  participates  of  them  according  to  its  peculiar 
nature  and  not  according  to  their  power.  As,  therefore,  that 
which  comes  into  existence  partakes  of  real  being,  as  by 
heredity,  and  the  body  receives  the  incorporeal  essence  after 
a  corporeal  manner,  so  likewise  the  natural  and  material 
bodies  in  the  realm  of  generated  existence,  it  may  be,  partici- 
pate in  a  disorderly  and  discordant  manner  of  the  non-ma- 
terial and  aetherial  bodies,  which  are  above  the  realms  of  na- 
ture and  generated  existence.  They  are  absurd,  therefore, 
who  attribute  color,  figure  and  the  sense  of  feeling  to  mental 
forms,  because  those  that  participate  of  them  are  of  such  a 
kind ;  and  so  are  they  also  who  impute  malignity  to  the  bodies 
in  the  sky  because  their  participants  are  sometimes  bad.  For 
unless  the  one  who  is  participating  had  some  such  aberration 
at  the  beginning,  there  would  be  no  such  communication.  But 
if  that  which  is  imparted  is  received  as  being  foreign  and  in- 
imical, it  may,  perhaps,  become  as  something  different,  and 
to  those  belonging  about  the  earth,  it  is  evil  and  disorderly. 
This  participation,  therefore,  and  the  commingling  of  aura  of 
the  realm  of  matter  with  that  of  the  non-material  realm,  be- 
comes a  cause  of  much  essential  diversity  in  the  inferior  races ; 
and  besides  these,  that  which  is  given  forth  in  one  way,  is 
received  after  another.  Thus,  for  example,  the  aura  of  Kronos 
(Seb)  is  dense,  but  that  of  Ares  (Mandu)  is  impulsive;*  yet 

*Abammon  follows  the  Egyptian  category  and  adopts  the  Grecian 
names  for  divinities  supposed  to  be  nearest  in  character  and  quality. 
In  this  description,  Kronos  or  Saturn  represents  the  centripetal  and 
Ares  or  Mars  the  centrifugal  force. 


70  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNIVERSE 

the  passive  generative  receptacle  in  those  belonging  in  the 
realm  of  matter  receives  the  former  according  to  its  consoli- 
dation and  coolness,  but  the  latter  according  to  the  warmth 
beyond  the  usual  condition.  Hence  do  not  corrupting  influ- 
ence and  the  disproportionateness  come  through  the  deviation 
of  the  recipients,  which  is  productive  of  inharmoniousness, 
pertaining  to  the  realm  of  matter  and  impressionable?  Hence 
the  feebleness  incident  to  regions  in  the  realm  of  matter  and 
earthly  existence,  not  being  capable  of  the  genuine  power  and 
absolutely  pure  life  of  the  divine  ones  of  the  setherial  region, 
refers  its  own  condition  to  the  Primary  Causes — just  as 
though  a  person  distempered  in  body  and  not  able  to  endure 
the  life-giving  warmth  of  the  Sun,  should  have  the  audacity 
to  affirm  from  his  own  condition,  the  falsehood  that  the  Sun  is 
of  no  benefit  to  health  or  life. 

Something  of  this  kind,  however,  may  be  the  case  in  the 
general  order  and  constitution  of  the  universe,  as  the  same 
things  may  be  the  means  of  safety  to  the  universe  and  to 
every  one,  through  the  completeness,  both  of  the  things  that 
are  possible  and  those  by  which  they  are  possible,  but  are 
harmful  to  the  imperfect  through  their  specific  lack  of  har- 
mony. Likewise  in  the  motion  of  the  universe,  the  revolutions 
in  like  manner  maintain  order  in  every  respect,  but  some  one 
of  the  parts  is  injured  now  and  then  by  another,  as  we  see 
occurring  in  a  dance.* 

To  repeat  the  statement  once  more,  it  is  the  natural  tend- 
ency of  partial  and  incomplete  things  to  decompose  and  un- 
dergo change.  It  is  not  proper,  however,  to  attribute  this 
peculiarity  to  the  universal  and  primary  causes,  either  as 
being  inherent  in  them  or  as  extending  from  them  into  this 
lower  region. 

Hence,  from  considerations  of  such  a  nature,  it  is  demon- 
strated that  neither  the  gods  (of  the  planets)  in  the  sky  them- 
selves, nor  their  gifts,  bring  evil. 


*It  would  be  easy  to  imagine  this  as  happening  in  the  case  of 
the  hundred  and  more  asteroids,  that  exist  in  the  space  between  the 
orbits  of  the  planets  Mars  and  Jupiter,  or  of  the  comets  that  so  often 
come  rushing  through  space. 


KITES,  SYMBOLS  AND  OFFERINGS  71 

THE  GODS  HAVE  ONE  COMMON  ESSENCE 

Come,  then,  let  us  dispose  of  that  question  also:  "What  is 
the  bond  of  union  that  connects  the  divinities  in  the  sky,  that 
have  bodies,  with  the  gods  that  are  unbodied?" 

This  also  is  clear  from  what  has  been  said  already.  For 
though  as  being  incorporeal,  intelligent  and  united,  they  ride 
upon  the  celestial  spheres,  they  have  their  origins  in  the  realm 
of  mind,*  and  comprehending  their  essential  being  as  divine, 
they  govern  the  whole  sky  by  one  infinite  energy,  and  although 
present  in  the  sky  as  existing  separately,  they  conduct  the 
perpetual  revolutions  by  their  solitary  wills,  and  are  them- 
selves unmingled  with  sensation  and  coexist  with  the  gods 
of  the  realm  of  Mind. 

It  is  proper,  nevertheless,  to  examine  the  present  question 
thoroughly.  I  state  the  proposition  accordingly,  that  the 
images  of  the  gods  which  are  visible  (in  the  sky)  are  from 
the  divine  models  in  the  realm  of  Mind,  and  are  engendered 
around  them;f  and  having  come  into  existence  they  are  es- 
tablished in  these  absolutely,!  and  being  extended  to  them, 
they  have  the  likeness  which  has  been  produced  from  them. 
They  are  likewise  wrought  into  another  arrangement  after 
a  different  manner.  They  are  held  here  in  connection  with 
those  models  in  one  stable  union,  and  the  divine  spiritual 
forms,  which  are  present  with  the  visible  bodies  of  the  gods, 
exist  separately  before  them,  but  their  noetic  models  un- 
mingled and  super-celestial  remain  permanently  by  them- 
selves, all  as  one  in  their  everlasting  exaltation. 

There  is,  therefore,  the  common  indissoluble  bond  with 
reference  to  spiritual  energies,  but  there  is  one  also  in  the 
common  participations  of  forms,  since  nothing  separates 
these,  and  there  is  nothing  intervening  between  them. 
Besides,    the   non-material    and   incorporeal    essence,    being 


*See  Chapter  VIII. 

fDamaskios  remarks  that  "the  Divine  Intelligence  which  encom- 
passes all  things  after  the  manner  of  models,  brings  them  forth  from 
itself  as  likenesses." 

\ That  is,  all  are  brought  back  to  their  source  and  rooted  in  their 
cause. 


72  ONE  COMMON  ESSENCE 

neither  parted  by  spaces  nor  by  subject-bodies,  nor  marked 
off  by  delineations  into  separate  parts,  comes  together  at  once, 
and  coalesces  into  an  absolute  identity.  The  issuing  forth  of 
all  from  the  One,  the  returning  again  into  the  One,  and  the 
absolute  rule  of  the  One  in  everything  effect  the  communion 
of  the  gods  themselves  in  the  Cosmic  world,  with  those  that 
pre-exist  in  the  realm  of  Mind. 

Moreover,  the  conversion  of  the  secondary  to  the  superior 
spiritual  beings  and  the  bestowing  of  the  same  essence  and 
power  from  the  primary  to  the  secondary  gods,  holds  their 
association  indissoluble  in  one.  In  regard  to  things  of  an- 
other quality,  as  for  example,  soul  and  body,  and  those  of  un- 
like kinds,  such  as  material  forms,  and  also  of  substances 
which  are  in  some  other  way  separated  from  each  other,  the 
natural  union,  which  exists  between  them  both,  originates 
from  the  Powers  above  and  is  cast  off  in  consequence  of  the 
limited  periods  of  time.  However  far  we  may  ascend  in  re- 
gard to  the  height  and  the  unchangeable  sameness  of  the  di- 
vinities, who  are  first  as  to  form  and  essence,  and  raise  our- 
selves from  imperfect  beings  to  perfect,  by  this  much  the  more 
do  we  find  the  union  which  is  sempiternal,  and  likewise  behold 
the  self  which  is  principle  and  dominant,*  possessing  diver- 
sity and  multitude  around  itself  and  in  itself. 

Inasmuch  as  the  gods  are  all  arranged  as  absolutely  one, 
the  primary  and  secondary  races,  even  the  many  that  are  self- 
existent  with  them,  preside  together  over  the  universe  as  one, 
everything  in  them  is  one,  and  the  first,  the  intermediate  and 
lowest  races  coexist  as  the  One  itself.  Hence,  in  respect  to 
these,  it  is  of  no  use  to  enquire  whence  the  One  is  brought  into 
reciprocal  relations  with  them  all,  for  the  self-same  essence 
that  is  indeed  in  them  is  the  one  of  their  own  substance.! 


*In  other  words,  this  atman,  or  self,  is  at  once  all-receptive  and 
all-procreative,  as  having  the  joint  powers  of  procreation  and  production. 

fWe  are  thus  brought  to  the  central  principle  of  the  ancient 
philosophy  and  worship;  that  the  many  divinities  are  in  essence  the 
One  Sole  Deity,  and  comprised  in  the  Paternal  Cause  of  the  Universe. 
The  Orphic  Carmen  in  the  same  way  inculcated  that  all  the  gods  and 
both  the  sexes  are  included  in  the  same  Zeus.  They  are  attributes, 
or  qualities,  of  the  One,  personalities  rather  than  individuals. 


MODES  OF  DISTINGUISHING  73 

The  secondary  races  not  only  remain  together  in  the  unity  of 
the  primary  divinities,  but  the  primary  gods  bestow  upon  the 
secondary  races  the  oneness  from  themselves,  and  they  all 
maintain  the  common  bond  of  an  indissoluble  relationship  to 
one  another. 

From  the  same  cause,  moreover,  the  gods  that  are  entirely 
incorporeal  are  united  with  the  gods  (in  the  sky)  that  have 
bodies  and  are  perceptible  to  the  senses.  For  the  gods  that 
are  visible  are  really  outside  of  bodies,  and  therefore  are  in 
the  world  of  Mind;  and  those  of  the  world  of  Mind,  through 
their  unconditioned  unity,  encompass  the  visible  divinities 
within  their  own  substance,  and  both  are  established  by  a 
common  union  and  a  single  energy.  In  like  manner,  also,  this 
is  characteristic  of  the  cause  and  arrangement  of  the  gods, 
and  for  this  reason  this  very  oneness  of  them  all  extends  from 
above  to  the  very  last  in  the  order  of  divine  beings.  Sup- 
pose, however,  that  this  seems  to  be  a  statement  to  be  doubted, 
the  contrary  supposition,  that  there  is  nothing  of  the  kind, 
would  be  matter  of  wonderment. 

So  much  may  be  declared  in  regard  to  the  bond  which 
unites  the  gods,  that  are  established  in  a  manner  perceptible 
to  the  senses,  with  the  gods  of  the  world  of  Mind. 

OTHER  MODES  OF  DISTINGUISHING 

After  this,  however,  thou  takest  up  again  the  very  ques- 
tions in  regard  to  which  the  things  which  have  been  stated 
already  will  suffice  amply  for  a  solution.  Since,  however,  as 
the  saying  is,  it  is  necessary  to  tell  and  examine  often  the 
things  which  are  beautiful,  we  will  not  pass  these  matters  by 
as  having  received  sufficient  answer,  but  by  pounding  away 
repeatedly  with  arguments  we  may  perhaps  get  out  of  them 
all  some  complete  and  important  benefit  in  true  knowledge. 
For  thou  art  still  in  doubt,  as  the  question  shows:  "The  gods 
that  are  visible  (in  the  sky)  being  included  in  the  same  cate- 
gory with  the  invisible,  what  distinguishes  the  demons  from 
the  visible,  and  likewise  the  invisible  gods?" 

Beginning  at  this  starting  point,  I  will  set  forth  the  dif- 
ference.   It  is  because  the  gods  in  the  sky  are  united  with  the 


74  DIFFERENCES 

gods  in  the  world  of  Mind,  and  have  the  same  idea  or  principle 
of  existence  with  them;  but  the  demons  are  far  distant  from 
them  in  essence,  and  scarcely  compare  with  them  in  any  re- 
semblance. On  this  account  they  are  distinct  from  the  visible 
divinities,  while  they  differ  from  the  invisible  gods  in  regard 
to  the  difference  of  their  peculiar  invisibility.  For  the  de- 
mons are  indeed  imperceptible  to  sight,  and  in  no  way  to  be 
apprehended  by  a  sense;  but  the  gods  are  beyond  the  scope  of 
the  knowledge  and  perception  incident  to  the  realm  of  matter. 
Because  they  are  in  these  respects  unknowable  and  invisible, 
they  are  so  named,  or  it  may  be  in  a  sense  very  different  in 
respect  to  the  demons  that  they  are  described  as  invisible. 
What,  then,  do  the  invisible  gods  have,  so  far  as  they  are  in- 
visible, which  is  superior  to  the  gods  that  are  seen  in  the 
sky?  Nothing  at  all.  For  the  divine  quality,  whatever  it  may 
be,  and  whatever  allotment  it  may  have,  possesses  the  same 
power  and  dominion  over  all  subordinate  things.  Even  if  they 
were  visible  they  would  not  be  subordinate  to  the  invisible  de- 
mons, and  though  they  were  to  belong  to  the  Earth,  they  would 
reign  over  the  demons  of  the  air.  For  neither  the  place  nor 
the  part  of  the  world  that  may  receive  it,  makes  any  change 
in  the  Supreme  authority  of  the  gods ;  but  the  entire  essence 
of  the  gods,  indivisible  and  unchangeable,  which  all  the  in- 
ferior races  in  the  order  of  nature  revere  in  like  manner,  re- 
mains everywhere  the  same. 

Setting  out  from  the  same  point  of  beginning,  we  also  find 
another  difference  between  them.  For  the  visible  and  invisi- 
ble gods  concentrate  in  themselves  the  whole  government  of 
existing  affairs,  both  in  regard  to  the  sky  and  world,  and  in  re- 
lation to  the  entire  invisible  forces  of  the  universe.  But  those 
that  are  allotted  to  authority  among  the  demons,  extending  it 
over  certain  prescribed  regions  of  the  world,  govern  these, 
and  themselves  likewise  have  an  incomplete  form  of  essence 
and  power.  They  are  even  in  some  manner  akin  and  insepara- 
ble from  those  that  are  governed  by  them. 

The  gods,  however,  even  those  that  go  upon  bodies  as  their 
vehicles,  are  separated  and  diverse  from  these  in  all  respects. 
Hence  the  supervising  of  the  bodies  brings  no  specific  lessen- 


CLASSIFICATION  75 

ing  of  rank  to  those  to  whom  the  body  is  subject;  it  is  en- 
compassed by  the  superior  essence,  and  is  turned  back  to  it, 
and  is  no  obstacle  to  it.  But  on  the  other  hand,  the  close 
affiliation  to  the  generative  nature  and  the  imperfection  en- 
suing by  it,  give  the  demons  necessarily  an  inferior  destiny. 
In  short,  the  divine  race  is  predominant  and  takes  precedence 
in  the  general  arrangement  among  existing  things;  but  the 
demonian  order  is  ministrant,  receiving  whatever  directions 
the  gods  may  give,  and  responding  promptly  by  own  effort, 
in  regard  to  whatever  the  gods  contemplate,  will  and  com- 
mand. 

Hence  the  gods  are  freed  from  the  forces  which  incline 
downward  to  the  realm  of  generated  existence,  but  the  de- 
mons are  not  wholly  purified  from  these. 

So  much,  therefore,  we  have  subjoined  in  regard  to  this 
solution  of  the  problem,  and  we  think  that  from  the  former 
and  the  present  arguments  the  matter  will  become  better 
known. 

CLASSIFICATION  REJECTED 

For  the  reasons  which  we  have  before  stated,  the  classifi- 
cation of  passive  and  impassive  which  thou  makest,  should 
be  rejected  as  not  being  suitable  for  any  of  the  superior  races, 
on  account  of  the  causes  which  we  formerly  mentioned.  In- 
deed it  deserves  to  be  overturned,  because  it  argues  from  the 
Sacred  Dramas  that  "they  are  impressionable."  What  Holy 
Rite,  and  what  act  of  worship  performed  according  to  the 
Sacerdotal  Regulations,  is  accomplished  through  a  passive 
condition,  or  effects  any  satisfying  of  passive  conditions'? 
Was  it  not  ordained  from  the  beginning,  according  to  the 
ordinances*  of  the  gods  and  likewise  intelligently?  The  Rite 
both  copies  the  order  of  the  gods,  both  that  of  the  gods  of  the 
world  of  Mind  and  that  of  the  gods  in  the  sky,  and  contains 
the  eternal  metres  of  things  that  are,  and  wonderful  spectacles 


*The  older  laws  of  the  Athenians  were  called  fhesma  as  being  or- 
dained by  the  gods,  or  rather  the  priests.  The  laws  of  Drako  were 
thesmoi,  those  of  Solon  nomoi  or  regulations. 


76  THE  DEEPER  KNOWLEDGE 

which  were  sent  down  from  the  Creator  (Derniurgus)  and 
Father  of  All,  by  which  also  the  things  of  Silence  are  repre- 
sented by  arcane  symbols,  the  things  without  form  are  held 
firmly  in  forms,  the  things  which  are  superior  to  any  like- 
ness are  represented  unshapen,  and  everything  is  accom- 
plished by  a  sole  Divine  Cause,  which  is  so  far  remote  from 
passive  conditions  that  no  reasoning  faculty  can  reach  to  it. 
This  fact,  therefore,  I  suppose,  becomes  the  cause  why 
many  turn  away  to  the  multitude  of  projects.  For  men  who 
are  unable  to  acquire  the  deeper  knowledge  of  the  reasonings 
themselves,  yet  who  imagine  themselves  able,  are  entirely 
carried  away  by  their  own  peculiar  human  emotions,  and  form 
their  judgment  of  matters  relating  to  the  gods  from  things 
incident  to  themselves.  Hence  they  err  in  two  ways :  because 
they  fail  of  the  true  concept  of  divine  things;  and  because 
when  they  miss  these,  they  drag  their  notions  of  these  down 
to  the  level  of  human  emotions  themselves.*  Nevertheless,  it 
ought  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  things  which  are  performed 
alike  to  gods  and  human  beings, — such  as  acts  of  homage, 
salutations,  offerings,  first-fruits,  are  to  be  regarded  as  after 
the  same  plan  of  action  in  both  cases ;  but  that  each  is  estab- 
lished apart  from  the  other  with  regard  to  the  distinction  of 
being  more  honorable — the  one  venerated  as  being  for  the 
gods  and  the  other  held  in  low  esteem  as  relating  to  human 
concerns.  Thus  is  given  a  completeness  to  passive  conditions, 
both  of  those  doing  homage  and  those  to  whom  it  is  rendered, 
for  they  are  human  and  of  a  corporeal  nature;  but  honor  is 
to  be  bestowed  unstintingly  upon  the  operation  of  the  others, 
as  being  performed  through  unchanging  admiration  and  a 
reverent  condition  of  mind,  because  they  are  rendered  to  the 
gods. 

♦Damaskios  remarks,  that  "we  discourse  after  the  manner  of  men 
respecting  principles  that  are  extolled  as  divine." 


THE  SUPERIOR  RACES  AND  THEIR 
MANIFESTATIONS 


PART  ir 

CHAPTER  V 

THE  SUPERIOR  RACES  AND  THEIR  MANIFESTA- 
TIONS 

DEMONS  AND  HALF-GODS  DIVERSE  IN  ESSENCE 

This  it  now  becomes  necessary  to  describe  to  thee :  "in  what 
a  demon  differs  from  a  hero  or  half -god  and  a  soul,  whether  in 
essence,  in  power,  or  in  energy. ' ' 

I  say  accordingly,  that  demons  are  produced  by  the  genera- 
tive and  creative  powers  of  the  gods,  in  the  furthest  extreme 
of  emanation  and  the  last  divisions :  but  that  the  heroes  or  half- 
gods  have  their  origin  by  the  forces  of  life  in  the  gods;  and 
that  the  superior  and  highest  in  rank  of  the  souls  are  brought 
to  completeness  and  distinguished  from  these  forces. 

The  nature  of  the  demons  and  half -gods  being  thus  derived 
from  different  sources,  their  essence  is  of  necessity  different. 
Thus  that  of  the  demons  is  effective  of  purposes,  bringing  to 
maturity  the  natures  about  the  world,  and  exercising  guardian- 
ship individually  over  those  coming  into  existence.*  That  of 
the  heroes  is  life-sustaining,  promotive  of  the  reasoning  fac- 
ulty, and  directive  of  souls. 

The  powers  likewise  may  be  defined  accordingly.    Those  of 


*Plato — Republic,  X,  Ch.  15.  "This  is  the  beginning  of  another 
period  for  men  of  mortal  race.  The  demon  will  not  receive  you  as  having 
been  allotted  to  him,  but  you  will  choose  the  demon;  the  cause  is  in 
him  who  makes  the  choice." 

79 


80  THE  EGYPTIAN  MYSTERIES 

the  demons  pertain  to  coming  into  existence  and  also  to  the 
oversight  of  the  souls  and  of  the  connection  of  the  souls  with 
the  bodies.  It  is  also  proper  to  assign  to  the  heroes  powers 
life-imparting,  directive  of  human  beings,  and  setting  free 
from  the  nativity. 

THE   ENERGIES 

It  follows  now  that  their  energies  shouldbe explained.  Those 
of  the  demons  may  be  described  as  being  employed  around  the 
world  and  as  extending  generally  among  the  things  accom- 
plished by  themselves ;  but  those  of  the  heroes  not  only  as  not 
extending  so  far,  but  as  being  engaged  with  the  distribution 
of  the  souls.  So,  therefore  these  being  explained,  the  Soul  is 
next,  and  ranks  as  the  end  of  the  series  of  divine  beings.  Hav- 
ing received  from  these  two  races  a  specific  allotment  of 
powers,  it  both  augments  the  apportionment  by  other  more 
abundant  additions  from  itself,  and  likewise  projects  from  it- 
self at  one  time  various  forms  and  principles  of  life  which  are 
entirely  different,  and  at  another  time  still  others.  Thus  mak- 
ing use  of  different  lives  and  ideals  according  to  each  region  of 
the  world,  it  is  united  with  those  that  it  likes,  and  draws  away 
from  those  from  which  it  may  wish  to  be  separate,  becoming 
assimilated  to  all,  and  separated  from  them  by  otherness.  In 
this  way,  choosing  principles  akin  both  to  the  things  that  are 
sempersistent  and  to  those  that  come  into  existence  in  time,  it 
allies  itself  to  the  gods  by  harmonies  of  essence  and  power 
other  than  those  by  which  the  demons  and  half-gods  are  like- 
wise entwined  with  them.  Though  possessing  in  a  less  degree 
than  they  the  everlasting  condition  of  similar  life  and  energy, 
nevertheless,  through  the  good  will  of  the  gods  and  the  lumi- 
nance imparted  by  their  light,  it  often  goes  higher  and  is  ex- 
alted to  a  higher  rank,  even  to  that  of  angels.  It,  then,  remains 
no  longer  in  the  limitations  of  the  psychal  condition,  but  is  de- 
veloped completely  through  its  whole  substance  into  an  angelic 
soul  and  an  uncontaminate  life  Hence,  manifestly,  the  Soul 
seems  to  contain  in  itself  manifold  essences,  different  rational 
qualities,  and  all  manner  of  idealities.    If,  however,  we  must 


APPAKITIONS  81 

speak  the  honest  truth,  the  contingency  exists,  that  it  is  always 
limited  in  reference  to  one  particular  thing ;  yet  being  in  com- 
munication with  the  Causes  it  is  at  different  times  allied  to  dif- 
ferent ones. 

So  great,  therefore,  being  the  differences  among  them  in  all 
these  respects,  it  is  no  longer  worth  while  to  dispute  in  regard 
to  the  particular  thing  which  is  the  cause  of  difference  among 
them.  Whatsoever  nature  they  every  one  have,  by  that  they 
are  to  be  distinguished  from  the  others.  So  far  also,  as  they 
form  one  common  society,  to  such  an  extent  their  common 
quality  may  be  contemplated ;  for  in  this  way  it  will  be  possible 
to  comprehend  without  mistake,  and  to  define  distinctly  the 
view  to  be  entertained  of  the  whole  subject. 


EPIPHANIES   OR  "APPARITIONS" 

Let  us  now  proceed  to  the  Epiphanies  or  apparitions 
(which  are  seen  at  the  Initiations).  What  is  the  difference  in 
them?  For  thou  puttest  the  question:  "What  is  the  token  (at 
the  Sacred  Rites)  of  the  presence  of  a  god,  an  angel  or  an  arch- 
angel, or  a  demon,  or  of  some  archon,  or  a  soul?"* 

I  will,  therefore,  in  a  single  statement  lay  down  the  proposi- 
tion that  the  apparitions  are  in  accord  with  their  essences, 
powers  and  energies.  For  such  as  they  are  as  such  do  they 
manifest  themselves  to  those  who  are  making  the  invocations ; 
and  they  not  only  exhibit  energies  and  forms  which  are  char- 


*Scutellius  enumerates  nine  classes  of  spiritual  beings,  namely:  1. 
Invisible  Gocls;  2.  Visible  Gods  of  the  Sky;  3.  Archangels;  4.  Angels; 
5.  Demons;  6.  Leaders;  7.  Princes;  8.  Heroes  or  Demi-gods;  9. 
Souls.  Paul  in  his  epistle  to  the  Ephesians  enumerates  the  following: 
1.  Princes;  2.  Authorities;  3.  Kosmokrators  or  princes  of  the  Cos- 
mos; 4.  Spiritual  essences  in  the  super-celestial  spheres.  Damaskios 
enumerates  six  orders  in  the  Chaldsean  Categories,  as  follows:  1.  Gods 
that  are  purely  mind;  2.  The  Gods  subsisting  before  all  subordinate 
dominion;  3.  Eulers;  4.  Archangels;  5.  Divinities  that  are  confined 
to  no  specific  place  or  service;  6.  Divinities  or  geniuses  with  specific 
duties. 


82  MANIFESTATIONS 

acteristic  of  themselves,  but  they  likewise  display  their  own 
particular  tokens.  In  order,  however,  to  draw  the  distinctions 
minutely,  this  is  the  explanation:  The  spectral  forms  of  the 
gods  are  uniform;  those  of  the  demons  are  diversified; 
those  of  the  angels  are  more  simple  in  appearance  than  those 
belonging  to  the  demons,  but  inferior  to  those  of  the  gods; 
those  of  the  archangels  approach  nearer  to  the  divine  Causes ; 
those  of  the  archons — if  those  that  have  charge  of  the  sublu- 
nary elements  seem  to  thee  to  be  the  lords  of  the  world* — will 
be  diversified  but  arranged  in  proper  order;  but  if  they  are 
princes  of  the  region  of  Matter,  they  will  not  only  be  more 
diversified  but  much  more  imperfect  than  the  others ;  and  those 
of  the  souls  will  appear  in  every  kind  of  style. 

In  the  (Epoptic)  Vision  the  figures  of  the  gods  shine  bril- 
liantly;! those  of  the  archangels  are  awe-inspiring  and  yet 
gentle ;  those  of  the  angels  are  milder ;  those  of  the  demons  are 
alarming.  Those  of  the  half-gods,  although  these  are  left  out 
in  your  question,  yet  there  should  be  an  answer  for  the  sake  of 
the  truth  because  they  are  more  gentle  than  those  of  the  de- 
mons.   Those  of  the  archons  are  terrifying  to  the  Beholders,! 


*These,  the  Kosmokrators,  are  supposed  by  Thomas  Taylor  to  be 
the  rulers  of  the  planets.  The  Assyrians  and  Chaldseans  enumerated 
nine  distinct  orders — three  Triads  of  three  classes  each.  The  Arch- 
angels correspond  to  the  seven  Amshaspands  of  the  Zoroastrian  cate- 
gory; and  the  archons  of  the  sphere  of  Matter  appear  to  have  been 
often  regarded  as  evil  potencies.  The  ancients,  however,  did  not  always 
distinguish  good  and  evil  quite  as  the  moderns  with  their  ethical  stand- 
ards. 

fProklos  following  Iamblichus  gives  this  description:  "In  all  the 
Perfective  Kites  and  Mysteries,  the  gods  project  many  shapes  of  them- 
selves, and  display  many  changing  figures;  there  will  be  a  formless 
luminance  radiating  from  them;  then  again  it  will  be  represented  in 
a  human  form,  and  again  it  will  go  into  some  different  shape."  Some 
of  the  figures  were  empousse  and  not  gods,  and  excited  alarm;  others 
were  attractive,  and  others  encouraged. 

t.The  "Beholders,"  epoptce  or  seers,  were  the  individuals  engaged 
in  being  initiated,  or  "perfected."  We  have  preserved  this  term  uni- 
formly to  avoid  confusing  readers. 


PECULIARITIES  83 

if  they  are  the  archons  of  the  universe;  and  hurtful  and  dis- 
tressing, if  they  are  of  the  realm  of  Matter.  The  figures  of  the 
Souls  are  similar  to  those  of  the  half-gods  except  that  they  are 
inferior  to  them. 

Moreover,  the  figures  of  the  gods  in  regard  to  size,  aspect, 
external  appearance  and  everything  around  them,  are  abso- 
lutely unchangeable.  Those  of  the  archangels  are  very  near 
to  those  of  the  gods  in  these  respects,  but  come  short  of  being 
actually  the  same.  Those  of  the  angels  are  inferior  to  these, 
but  are  unchangeable.  Those  of  the  demons  are  seen  in  dif- 
ferent shapes  and  appear  great  and  small  at  different  times ; 
but  the  manifestations  are  the  same.  Those  of  the  archons 
who  are  rulers  are  unchangeable,  but  the  apparitions  of  those 
that  belong  to  the  realm  of  Matter  are  apt  to  change  into  in- 
numerable forms.  Those  of  the  half -gods  are  like  those  of  the 
demons,  and  those  of  the  souls  conform  in  no  small  degree  to 
changeableness,  peculiar  to  the  demons. 

Further  still,  to  the  gods  there  pertain  order  and  tranquil- 
lity; and  with  the  figures  of  the  archangels  there  exists  a  dra- 
matic representation  of  order  and  quietude.  With  the  angels 
there  is  present  the  disposition  for  order  and  peacefulness,  but 
they  are  not  free  from  motion.  The  figures  of  the  demons  are 
accompanied  by  tumult  and  disorder.  With  those  of  the  ar- 
chons there  are  objects  to  be  seen  analogous  to  each  class 
which  we  have  already  mentioned :  those  of  the  realm  of  Mat- 
ter being  borne  along  tumultuously.  Those  of  the  half-gods 
are  constantly  in  motion  and  are  never  exempt  from  change, 
and  those  of  the  Souls  resemble  the  figures  of  half-gods,  but  at 
the  same  time  are  inferior  to  them. 

With  these  peculiarities  there  flashes  out  from  the  gods 
Beauty  which  seems  inconceivable,  holding  the  Beholders  fixed 
with  wonder,  imparting  to  them  an  unutterable  gladness,  dis- 
playing itself  to  view  with  ineffable  symmetry,  and  carrying 
off  the  palm  from  other  forms  of  comeliness.  The  glorious 
views  of  the  archangels  have  themselves  very  great  beauty, 
but  it  is  by  no  means  ineffable  and  admirable  as  that  of  the 
gods.  Those  of  the  angels  partake  in  a  degree  of  the  beauty 
which  they  receive  from  the  archangels. 


84  AT  THE  RITES 

The  spirits  at  the  Autopsia,  the  demons  and  half-gods,* 
both  of  them  possess  beauty  in  defined  forms ;  but  that  of  the 
demons  is  set  forth  in  ways  that  make  their  essence  distinct, 
and  that  of  the  half-gods  displays  a  manlike  character.  The 
figures  of  the  archons  are  classified  by  the  twofold  distinction. 
For  those  of  the  one  class  display  a  beauty  predominant  and 
self-originated;  and  those  of  the  other  class  exhibit  an  ingen- 
ious mock-representation  of  a  beautiful  shape  The  figures  of 
the  souls  are  themselves  arranged  in  definite  forms,  but  these 
are  more  diverse  than  is  the  case  with  the  half-gods,  being 
more  particularly  circumscribed  and  controlled  by  a  single 
ideal. 

If,  however,  it  is  necessary  in  regard  to  them  all  that  they 
shall  be  defined  by  a  common  rule,  I  say  that  as  every  one  of 
them  all  is  constituted,  and  as  it  has  its  own  peculiar  nature, 
even  so  do  they  all  participate  of  the  Absolute  Beauty  accord- 
ing to  the  existing  allotment. 

MANIFESTATIONS    AT    THE    RITES 

Proceeding  therefore  to  other  peculiarities  of  the  superior 
races,  we  will  remark  that  in  the  Sacred  Performances  there 
is  with  the  gods  an  incredible  celerity,  and  although  they  them- 
selves are  immutable  and  steadfast,  they  shine  out  swifter 
than  mind  itself.    But  with  the  archangels  the  swift  move- 


*The  Greek  term  "autoptic  spirits,"  meaning  those  which  appear  at 
the  "Autopsia,"  or  Perfective  Rite.  Mr.  Robert  Brown,  Jr.,  ably  de- 
scribes it.  The  candidates,  or  Beholders,  having  passed  the  preliminary 
discipline  as  Mystae,  are  ushered  into  the  Sekos,  or  chamber  of  Initiation. 
"Here,  deeply  excited  and  agitated  by  all  they  have  gone  through,  ready 
to  believe  anything  and  everything,  in  that  state  of  abstinence,  which  is, 
or  is  supposed  to  be,  most  favorable  to  the  reception  of  supernatural 
displays,  with  their  minds  more  or  less  affected  by  drugs  and  their 
whole  being  permeated  with  the  impression  and  expectation  of  a  revela- 
tion of  the  more  than  mortal,  they  were  allowed  to  see.  This  is  the 
Autopsia,  or  Personal  inspection,  the  Crown  of  Mysteries,  the  Etopteia, 
or  Divine  Beholding,  which  was  used  as  a  synonym  to  express  the  highest 
earthly  happiness,  and  he  who  enjoyed  it  became  an  Epoptes,  or  Con- 
templator,  beyond  which  this  world  could  afford  him  nothing." — G-rcat 
Dionysiah  Myth,  VI,  ii,  3.  Compare  also  epistle  of  Paul  to  the  Corin- 
thians, XII,  2-4. 


THE  PERFECTIVE  RITE  85 

merits  are  commingled  in  some  way  with  the  dramatic  per- 
formances. Those  of  the  angels,  however,  are  connected  with 
a  certain  moving  impulse  and  take  part  no  further  in  a  similar 
manner  in  the  Perfective  Rite*  by  way  of  speaking. 

With  the  demons  there  is  a  show  of  rapidness  in  the  Per- 
formances which  is  more  than  genuine.  But  with  the  figures 
of  the  half-gods,  there  appears  a  certain  grandness  in  the  mo- 
tions; nevertheless  it  is  not  possible  to  effect  these  things, 
which  they  desire  at  the  Perfective  Rite  as  quickly  as  it  is  for 
the  demons.  In  the  case  of  those  of  the  archons,  those  of  the 
former  class  possessing  authority,  exhibit  performances  that 
appear  highly  creditable ;  and  those  of  the  second  class  have 
more  display,  but  fall  short  in  regard  to  results  at  the  end. 
The  figures  of  the  souls  are  seen  to  be  incessantly  in  motion, 
but  feebler  than  in  the  case  of  those  of  the  half -gods. 

In  addition  to  these  points,  the  magnitude  of  the  appari- 
tions may  be  considered.  In  the  case  of  the  gods  it  is  displayed 
to  such  a  degree  as  sometimes  to  hide  from  view  the  entire  sky, 
the  sun  and  the  moon,  and  likewise  to  make  it  no  longer  pos- 
sible for  the  earth  to  stand  firm  while  they  are  making  their 
descent.! 

When  archangels  appear,  there  are  certain  regions  of  the 


*  Greek,  Tb  djiOTeleofiazinov,  to  apotelestikon,  the  perfective  rite. 
The  Romans  termed  the  ceremonies  "Initiations,"  as  signifying  the 
beginning  of  a  new  life,  while  the  Greeks  regarded  it  as  denoting  a 
completing  of  the  Herculean  labors  of  the  Soul.  The  services  were 
conducted  after  the  form  of  a  dramatic  representation,  and  Clement 
styled  them  accordingly,  "the  Drama  of  the  Mysteries."  The  ancient 
Theatre  took  its  rise  from  these  rites,  as  the  Modern  Theatre  had  its 
origin  in  the  Mystery-Plays  of  the  Monks  in  the  Middle  Ages.  The 
Athenian  Theatre  was  a  Temple  of  Bacchus. 

fThe  Chaldaan  Oracles  describe  these  scenic  displays  in  very  similar 
terms : 

"  If  thou  invoked  me  often,  thou  wouldst  behold  what  thou  desirest : 
Tor  then  the  concave  vault  of  heaven  does  not  appear, 
The  stars  shine  not,  the  moonlight  wastes  away, 
The  earth  no  more  stands  still ; 
All  things  are  to  be  seen  by  the  flashes  of  the  lightnings." 


86  LUMINOSITY 

world  set  in  motion,  and  a  divided  luminance  goes  in  advance 
before  them.  But  they  themselves  according  to  the  magnitude 
of  their  dominion  display  also  light  in  correspondence  with  its 
dimension.  The  angelic  luminosity  is  very  much  less,  and  is 
likewise  greatly  divided.  In  the  case  of  the  demons  them- 
selves, it  is  still  more  diffused  than  with  the  angels,  and  their 
magnitude  is  observed  to  be  not  always  equal.  The  manifesta- 
tion of  the  half-gods  is  less  than  this,  but  it  exhibits  more  of 
pride  of  condition.  The  figures  of  the  archons  that  are  rulers 
of  pericosmic  forms  appear  large  and  indeed  of  huge  dimen- 
sions, but  those  that  are  distributed  over  the  realm  of  Matter 
employ  more  ostentation  and  false  pretending.  Those  of  the 
souls  do  not  all  seem  equal,  and  they  appear  smaller  than  the 
figures  of  the  half-gods.  In  short,  it  is  according  to  the  mag- 
nitude of  the  powers  in  each  of  the  Superior  races,  according 
to  the  vastness  of  the  dominion  through  which  they  are  ex- 
tended and  in  which  they  exercise  authority,  and  according  to 
the  due  proportion  itself,  that  the  magnitude  of  the  manifesta- 
tions is  graciously  exhibited  in  every  one  of  them. 

After  these  explanations  let  us  define  the  characteristics 
of  these  images  thus  individually  manifest.  In  the  autoptic 
visions  of  the  gods,  the  most  brilliant  spectacles  of  reality  it- 
self are  to  be  beheld.  They  not  only  shine  steadily  but  they 
are  plainly  visible  as  if  in  organic  shapes.  The  images  of  the 
archangels  present  themselves  to  view  genuine  and  perfect. 
Those  of  the  angels  preserve  the  form  itself,  but  they  come 
short  in  the  completeness  of  distinctive  tokens.  Those  of  the 
demons  are  scarcely  perceptible,  and  those  of  the  half-gods  are 
still  inferior.  Those  of  the  cosmic  archons  are  clear,  and  those 
cf  the  archons  of  the  realm  of  Matter  are  indistinct,  but  both 
classes  seem  to  be  exercising  authority.  Those  of  the  souls 
apj)ear  like  mere  shadows. 

In  like  manner,  let  us  explain  also,  in  regard  to  the  lumi- 
nosity. The  images  of  the  gods  glow  with  abundance  of  light, 
and   those   of   the   archangels   are    surpassingly   luminous.* 


*The  Chaldcean  Oracles  disapprove  of  invoking  these  manifestations. 
"Thou  shalt  not  invoke  the  Autoptic  Image  of  Being,  for  it  is  not  proper 
for  thee  to  see  these  things  before  the  body  is  perfected,  or  initiated." 


FIRE  87 

Those  of  the  angels  are  resplendent  with  light,  but  the  demons 
present  the  appearance  of  smouldering  fire,  and  the  half-gods 
a  commingling  from  many  sources.  The  cosmic  archons  are 
relatively  more  pure  from  such  admixture,  but  those  of  the 
realm  of  Matter  exhibit  a  mingling  of  dissimilar  and  incon- 
gruous elements.  The  Souls  are  more  distinctly  visible  from 
many  admixtures  in  the  sphere  of  generated  existence,  the 
light  being  supplied  only  by  partial  gleams. 

In  the  same  manner  we  will  speak  further  of  the  things 
which  have  been  discussed.  The  Fire  of  the  gods  shines  bril- 
liantly an  undivided  flame  without  sound,  and  it  fills  all  the 
depths  of  the  world  like  a  conflagration,  but  not  after  the  man- 
ner of  a  worldly  occurrence.*  The  fire  of  the  archangel  is  un- 
broken, but  there  is  to  be  seen  around  it  a  great  mass  going  be- 
fore it  or  following  after  it.  The  fire  of  the  angels  is  disjoined, 
yet  it  appears  in  very  perfect  forms.  That  of  the  demons  is 
not  only  circumscribed  into  still  briefer  dimensions,  and  may 
be  explained  in  a  word,  but  it  is  not  worthy  to  be  noticed  by 
those  who  are  contemplating  spectacle  of  the  superior  beings. 
That  of  the  half-gods  contain  after  a  manner  the  same  pe- 
culiarities, but  at  the  same  time  it  falls  short  of  an  exact  simi- 
larity to  that  of  the  demons.  That  of  the  archons  of  the  higher 
class  is  observed  to  be  more  glowing;  but  in  the  case  of  those 
belonging  to  the  realm  of  Matter,  it  is  darker.  That  of  the 
Souls  themselves  exhibits  many  divisions  and  various  forms 
mingled  together  from  many  of  the  natures  around  the  world. 

To  repeat :  The  fire  of  the  gods  is  always  stable  to  the  view. 
That  of  the  archangels  is  mild ;  that  of  the  angels  is  in  constant 
motion;  that  of  the  demons  is  unstable;  that  of  the  heroes  is 
for  the  most  part  in  swift  motion ;  that  of  the  archons  of  the 
first  class  is  mild,  but  that  of  those  of  the  lower  order  is  full  of 


*The  divine  essence  was  anciently  described  in  every  religion  as  fire, 
and  so  the  "eternal  fire"  was  preserved  in  temples  and  on  altars,  as  its 
symbol.  Hence,  the  Clialdcean  Oracle  commands:  "When  thou  shalt 
behold  the  Very  Holy  Fire  without  form,  shining  in  flashes  down  into 
the  depths  of  the  world,  then  listen  to  the  Voice  of  the  Fire."  Zoroaster 
at  the  Altar  and  Moses  on  Mount  Sinai  (Deuteronomy  IV,  4)  are  de- 
scribed as  hearing  the  Voice  of  the  Supreme  Being  from  such  a  source. 


88  THE  SPHERE  OF  MATTER 

fluctuation.    That  of  the  souls  changes  with  innumerable  mo- 
tions. 

THE  SUPERIOR  RACES  AND  MATTER 

Nevertheless,  that  which  operates  to  purify  the  souls  (from 
impurity  incident  in  the  realm  of  generated  existence)  is  com- 
plete in  the  gods,  but  is  simply  of  an  exalting  character  in  the 
archangels.  The  angels  only  loosen  the  bonds  which  fasten 
them  to  the  sphere  of  matter.  Demons  draw  them  into  the 
realm  of  nature,*  and  the  half -gods  bring  them  down  into  the 
province  of  the  operations  of  the  senses.  The  archons  either 
entrust  them  with  the  charge  of  things  pertaining  to  the  cosmic 
world,  or  with  the  dominion  of  those  belonging  to  the  realm  of 
matter,  as  the  case  may  be.  Souls,  when  they  appear  to  the 
Beholders,  attract  in  some  manner  downward  to  the  sphere  of 
generated  existence. 

And,  further,  this  fact  is  to  be  kept  in  view:  that  every- 
thing of  the  visible  likeness  that  is  pure  and  stable  thou  shouldst 
attribute  to  the  Superior  Races.  Whatever  of  them  is  very 
brilliant  and  firmly  fixed  in  itself,  ascribe  to  the  gods.  What- 
ever is  luminous  and  nevertheless  exists  as  by  something  else 
than  itself,  impute  to  the  archangels;  and  whatever  remains 
in  a  different  form  assign  to  the  angels.  Whatever  is  borne 
along  as  by  a  breeze  and  is  not  stably  fixed,  but  is  permeated 
by  alien  natures,  all  which  is  conformable  to  the  inferior  or- 
ders, is  to  be  credited  to  some  foreign  source. 

This  classification,  however,  may  also  be  made  according 
to  the  difference  of  the  commingling.  For  with  the  demons 
emanations  from  the  planetary  worlds  are  mingled  and  are 
borne  along  unsteadily  by  the  motion  of  the  astral  world. 
With  the  half-gods,  groups  of  spirits  belonging  to  the  depart- 
ment of  generated  life  are  again  mixed  up  around  which  they 


*Minutius  Felix  remarks  that  "the  demons  bear  downward  by  heavy 
weight,  and  turn  from  God  to  material  conditions."  The  Chaldcem  Oracle 
also  says:  "When  bewitching  (magnetizing)  souls  they  always  draw 
them  away  from  the  Sacred  Rites."  Much  that  is  considered  spiritual, 
and  even  divine  influence,  is  of  this  character. 


BENEFITS  89 

are  also  themselves  constantly  in  motion.  The  cosmic  archons 
likewise  remain  exhibiting  the  cosmic  character  which  they 
possess;  but  those  archons  that  belong  to  the  realm  of  mat- 
ter are  filled  with  exhalations  of  the  material  region. 
Souls  are  infected  with  extraordinary  defilements  and 
alien  spirits.  With  these  accompaniments  each  of  these  races 
exhibits  itself  at  the  epiphanies. 

To  thee  it  will  be  no  unimportant  evidence  that  on  these 
occasions  there  is  in  the  case  of  the  gods  a  consuming  of  mat- 
ter all  at  once  as  by  lightning.  With  the  archangels  it  is  de- 
stroyed in  a  short  time.  In  the  case  of  the  angels  there  is  a 
loosening  and  leading  away  from  it.  With  the  demons  there 
is  an  arranging  of  it  in  an  orderly  manner.  With  the  half- 
gods  it  is  to  be  observed  that  they  become  adapted  to  it  in  due 
measures  and  give  careful  attention  to  it  ingeniously.  The 
archons  that  rule  the  planetary  worlds  are  placed  with  it  as 
though  they  were  superior,  and  so  shine  forth  as  from  them- 
selves ;  but  those  of  the  realm  of  matter  exhibit  themselves  as 
entirely  filled  up  from  matter.  As  for  the  souls,  those  also, 
that  are  pure  manifest  themselves  outside  of  matter,  but  those 
of  the  opposite  character  are  encompassed  by  it. 

BENEFITS    DERIVED    FROM    INITIATION 

Moreover,  the  benefits  acquired  from  the  manifestations, 
are  neither  all  alike,  nor  do  they  have  the  same  fruits.*  The 
advent  of  the  god  imparts  to  us  health  of  body,  virtue  of  soul, 
purity  of  mind,  and  indeed,  to  speak  to  the  point,  the  leading 
of  everything  in  us  upward  to  its  own  first  principles.  It  not 
only  takes  away  the  cold  and  destructive  quality  in  us,  but  it 
augments  the  vital  warmth  and  makes  it  more  potent  and  pre- 
dominant. It  likewise  brings  everything  into  accord  with  the 
soul  and  mind.  The  light  not  only  shines  in  the  mental  con- 
stitution, but  it  also  exhibits  that  which  is  not  body  as  body 
to  the  eyes  of  the  soul  through  those  of  the  body. 


*The  Chaldcean  Oracles  have  this  declaration:  "From  those  de- 
scending from  the  Empyreal  regions  the  soul  obtains  the  soul-nourish- 
ing flower." 


90  ADVANTAGES 

The  coming  of  the  archangels  likewise  brings  the  same  ben- 
efits, but  it  does  not  give  them  at  all  times,  nor  to  all  persons, 
nor  such  as  are  sufficient,  or  complete,  or  that  may  not  be  taken 
away;  nor  does  the  light  shine  in  a  manner  equal  to  what  is 
beheld  at  the  manifestations  of  the  gods.  The  presence  of  the 
angels  dispenses  benefits  as  if  making  a  distribution  of  them, 
and  the  energy  through  which  it  is  manifested  comes  far  short 
of  including  in  itself  a  perfect  light.  That  of  the  demons 
weighs  down  the  body  and  chastens  it  with  diseases,  drags 
down  the  soul  into  the  realm  of  nature,  and  also  fails  to  re- 
move from  bodies  the  sensibility  born  with  bodies,  detains  in 
this  region  those  who  were  hastening  toward  the  fire,  and  does 
not  set  free  from  the  bonds  of  Fate.  The  appearing  of  the 
half-gods  is  similar  in  various  respects  to  that  of  the  demons, 
but  it  differs  in  this  respect,  that  it  arouses  the  individual  to 
noble  and  important  deeds.  The  display  of  the  cosmic  archons 
at  the  autopsia  imparts  advantages  of  a  general  character  and 
everything  pertaining  to  the  business  of  life ;  and  that  of  the 
archons  of  the  realm  of  matter  extends  benefits  incident  to  the 
sphere  of  matter,  and  such  works  as  pertain  to  the  earth. 
Still  further,  moreover,  the  Vision  of  the  Souls  that  are  uncon- 
taminate  and  established  in  the  order  of  angels  is  elevating  in 
its  influence  and  salutary  to  the  soul.  It  likewise  imparts  a 
sacred  hope  and  bestows  those  benefits  to  which  a  sacred  hope 
aspires.  But  the  Vision  of  Souls  of  a  different  quality  pro- 
duces a  tendency  downward  into  the  sphere  of  generated  exist- 
ence, corrupts  the  fruits  of  hope,  and  fills  the  Beholders  with 
Perturbations  that  nail  them  fast  to  corporeal  conditions. 


VI 
THE  ORDER  EXHIBITED  AT  THE  RITES 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  ORDER  EXHIBITED  AT  THE  RITES 

Besides,  there  takes  place  at  the  Autopsies  an  exhibition 
of  the  order  which  those  that  are  beheld,  carefully  maintain, 
namely : 

That  of  the  gods,  having  gods  or  angels  around  them. 

That  of  the  archangels,  having  angels  either  that  precede 
them,  keep  in  line  with  them,  or  follow  after ;  or  else  being  ac- 
companied by  another  company  of  angels  acting  as  an  escort. 

That  of  the  angels  exhibiting  the  peculiar  operations  of  the 
order  to  which  they  have  attained. 

That  of  the  good  demons  presenting  for  contemplation 
their  own  works  and  the  benefits  which  they  bestow. 

That  of  the  avenging  demons  displaying  the  forms  of 
vengeance. 

That  of  other  evil  demons  encompassed  by  hurtful,  blood- 
sucking and  fierce  wild  beasts.* 

That  of  the  archons  (of  the  cosmos)  exhibiting  along  with 
themselves  certain  regions  of  the  universe. 

That  of  the  other  class  of  archons  attracting  the  disorder 
and  discord  of  the  realm  of  matter. 

That  of  a  soul  that  is  entire  and  not  held  fast  in  a  specific 
form ;  it  is  beheld  around  the  whole  cosmic  region  as  a  form- 
less fire,  indicative  of  the  Soul  of  the  World,  entire,  one,  undi- 
vided and  without  form. 

That  of  the  purified  soul;  the  glowing  shape  is  seen,  the 


*" Sometimes,"  says  Potter,  "terrible  apparitions  astonished  the 
trembling  spectators"  at  the  Perfective  Kites.  This  was  the  case  every- 
where. In  the  Chaldcean  Oracles  mention  is  made  of  these  direful  crea- 
tures. They  are  called  "dogs  of  the  earth."  "Thy  vessel  (the  body) 
the  chthonian  beasts  shall  make  their  home."  This  implies  obsession 
and  evil  influences  from  the  spiritual  world. 

93 


94  THE  EGYPTIAN  MYSTERIES 

fire  pure  and  without  mixture.  Then  are  seen  its  innermost 
luminance,  and  the  form  pure  and  steady ;  and  it  follows  after 
the  upward  leading  guide  rejoicing  with  hearty  good  will  and 
itself  by  its  operations  showing  its  proper  rank. 

The  soul,  however,  that  bows,  carries  along  with  it  the  sym- 
bols of  bonds  and  punishments,  and  is  not  only  weighed  down 
by  groups  of  spirits  belonging  to  the  realm  of  matter,  but  it  is 
also  held  fast  by  the  anomalous  disorders  incident  to  that 
realm,  and  there  are  also  seen  demons  of  the  generative  order 
placing  their  authority  directly  before  it. 

In  short  all  these  races  make  their  respective  orders  duly 
distinguishable,  and  they  show  at  once  the  regions  which  have 
fallen  to  them,  and  the  allotments  in  which  they  abide.  Those 
that  are  of  the  air  display  aerial  fire ;  the  earthly  ones  a  chthon- 
ian  and  darker  light,  and  the  celestials  a  more  splendid  lumi- 
nance. All  these  races  are  distributed  in  these  three  regions 
(the  earth,  air  and  superior  heaven)  in  the  threefold  order  of 
beginning,  intermediary  and  last ;  those  of  the  gods  displaying 
the  highest  and  purest  causes  pertaining  to  this  threefold 
order ;  those  of  the  angels  being  reckoned  from  the  archangels ; 
those  of  the  demons  being  manifest  as  attendant  upon  these 
and  those  of  the  half-gods  in  like  manner  ministrant — not  in- 
deed after  the  same  services  as  the  demons,  but  after  other 
and  different  ways  of  their  own.  Those  of  the  archons  have 
the  allotment  which  is  set  apart  to  them;  to  one  class  the  su- 
perintendence of  the  cosmic  world  and  to  the  other  that  of  the 
realm  of  matter.  Those  of  the  souls  are  classed  as  the  last  of 
the  superior  races. 

Hence  they  all  indicate  their  places  by  themselves;  the 
first  classes  having  the  first;  the  second  class  the  second,  and 
the  third  class  the  third,  and  the  others  are  arranged  as  be- 
longing to  some  of  these. 

OTHER  PHENOMENA  AT  THE  RITES 

Meanwhile,  the  gods  beam  forth  light  to  such  a  degree  of 
thinness  that  the  bodily  eyes  are  not  able  to  sustain  it,  but  are 
affected  in  the  same  way  that  fishes  are  when  they  are  drawn 
from  a  muddy  and  thick  fluid  into  rare  and  transparent  air. 


PHENOMENA  95 

For  the  men,  the  Beholders  of  the  Divine  Fire  not  being  able 
to  breathe  because  of  the  thinness  of  the  fire,  become  enfeebled 
as  they  come  to  the  sight,  and  are  excluded  from  natural  respi- 
ration. Archangels  also  give  forth  a  luminant  atmosphere 
which  is  not  endurable  for  breathing;  yet  they  neither  shine 
with  the  same  pure  light,  nor  are  they  as  overpowering  as  the 
gods  their  superiors.  The  presence  of  the  angels  makes  the 
temperature  of  the  air  endurable,  so  that  it  is  possible  for  the 
theurgic  priests  to  approach  them.  In  the  case  of  the  demons 
there  is  nothing  to  affect  the  air,  and  in  consequence  the  at- 
mosphere around  them  does  not  become  more  tenuous ;  a  lumi- 
nosity does  not  precede  them,  in  which  their  form  might  be- 
come visible  from  being  taken  and  fixed  by  the  air,  and  there 
occurs  no  radiation  around  them.  In  the  case  of  the  half-gods, 
certain  parts  of  the  earth  are  moved  as  by  an  earthquake,  and 
noises  echo  around ;  but  the  air  does  not  become  at  all  thinner, 
or  unsuitable  for  the  theurgic  priests,  so  as  to  render  it  impos- 
sible for  them  to  endure  it.  In  regard  to  the  archons,  whether 
those  of  the  cosmic  worlds  or  those  that  belong  to  the  realm 
of  matter,  an  assemblage  of  many  luminous  apparitions,  hard 
to  endure,  surrounds  them ;  but  there  occurs  no  attenuation  of 
the  air,  such  as  is  incident  to  the  supramundane  region,  or  to 
the  Zodiacal  signs  on  high.*  But  with  the  manifestations  of 
the  souls  the  air  is  evidently  affiliated  more  closely,  and  being 
united  to  them  receives  in  itself  their  limitations. 

ACQUIREMENTS  FROM  THE  SUPERIOR  RACES 

Accordingly,  at  the  last  stage,  when  the  gods  appear,  the 
dispositions  of  soul  of  those  who  are  invoking  them,  realize  a 
thorough  removing  of  passive  conditions  and  the  transcendent 
perfection,  and  not  only  the  energy  superior  in  every  respect, 
but  they  also  participate  in  divine  love  and  a  tranquillity  of 
mind,  almost  beyond  estimation.  When  the  archangels  are  be- 
held, these  dispositions  acquire  a  pure  constancy  of  condition, 


*The  Supreme  elements,  &xga  oroixeta,  are  the  signs  of  the 
zodiac,  which  constituted  an  important  feature  in  theurgy  as  allied  to 
astrology. 


96  ACQUIREMENTS 

spiritual  insight  and  stable  power.  At  the  coming  of  the 
angels  into  view,  they  receive  an  allotment  of  wisdom  and 
truth,  and  likewise  of  pure  excellence,  sure  knowledge  and 
order  in  harmony  with  these  bestowments.  But  when  the  de- 
mons are  contemplated  the  tendencies  take  on  eager  desire  in- 
cident to  the  sphere  of  generated  nature,  and  likewise  not  only 
acquire  zeal  for  the  completing  of  the  Performances  according 
to  allotment  of  such  txercises.  If  there  is  a  view  of  the  half- 
gods,  then  they  are  not  only  borne  away  by  other  such  impres- 
sions, but  also  share  in  many  anxieties  of  a  character  relating 
to  a  communion  of  souls.  But  when  the  archons  are  brought 
within  purview,  then  movements  are  set  up  in  the  soul,  cosmic 
or  such  as  pertain  to  the  realm  of  matter,  as  the  case  may  be. 
And  with  the  visions  of  the  souls,  there  are  brought  into  ac- 
tivity the  generative  appetites  and  natural  solicitude  as  re- 
gards the  care  of  the  bodies  and  such  other  matters  as  relate 
to  these. 

In  connection  with  these  things,  the  apparition  of  the  gods 
imparts  sincerity  and  power,  and  likewise  success  in  under- 
takings, and  also  gifts  the  greatest  benefits ;  and  at  the  appear- 
ing of  the  others  everything  is  bestowed  abundantly  as  it  may 
be  consistent  with  the  rank  of  the  several  orders.  For  ex- 
ample that  of  the  archangels,  gives  the  perception  of  what  is 
true,  not  simply  in  regard  to  all  things  collectively  but  def- 
initely in  relation  to  specific  matters,  and  this  not  at  all  times 
but  occasionally — not  indefinitely  to  all  or  everywhere,  but 
singly  in  a  particular  manner  or  to  some  special  purposes.  In 
short  it  does  not  confer  power  in  like  manner  neither  upon  all, 
nor  at  all  times,  nor  everywhere,  but  only  sometimes  and  in 
some  particular  way.  At  the  appearing  of  the  angels,  there 
are  still  narrower  limitations  than  these  in  the  circuit  in  the 
bestowing  of  benefits.  The  coming  of  the  demons  into  view 
does  not  impart  gifts  good  to  the  soul  but  either  those  of  the 
body  or  which  relate  to  the  body.  These  they  dispense  wher- 
ever the  order  of  the  universe  permits.  According  to  the  same 
conditions,  the  presence  of  the  half-gods  imparts  benefits  of 
the  second  and  third  order,  aiming  to  acquire  supervision  of 
the  entire  polity  of  souls,  but  those  of  the  earth  and  those  of 


BOASTFUL   SPEECH  97 

the  cosmic  realm.  At  the  manifestation  of  the  archons,  the 
cosmic  and  the  other  class,  the  former  confer  blessings  of  a 
cosmic  nature  and  those  of  this  life ;  but  those  of  the  inferior 
rank  bring  out  not  a  few  advantages  incident  to  the  realm  of 
matter,  they  exhibit  to  the  Beholders  things  which  contribute 
to  the  welfare  of  human  life. 

Thus  we  have  set  forth  particularly  the  boons  received 
from  these  superior  races  according  to  the  respective  order 
of  every  one,  and  have  likewise  made  a  complete  answer  to 
what  thou  hast  asked  in  regard  to  matters  of  importance  in  re- 
lation to  their  appearings  to  view.  So  much,  then,  let  us  set 
forth  respecting  these  subjects. 

BOASTFUL  SPEECH  AND  DECEPTIVE  IMAGES 

The  matter,  however,  which  thou  hast  brought  to  us  for  a 
decisive  solution  respecting  these  superior  races,  whether  as 
thy  own  opinion  or  whether  as  what  thou  hast  heard  from 
others,  is  neither  correct  nor  rightly  expressed.  Thou  sayest : 
"It  is  a  common  thing  for  the  gods  and  demons  alike,  and  with 
all  the  Superior  races,  to  speak  boastfully,  and  to  project  an 
unreal  image  into  view. ' ' 

Such  is  not  the  fact  as  thou  supposest.  For  a  god,  an 
angel,  and  a  good  demon  (when  they  appear  at  the  Rites)  give 
instruction  freely  to  human  beings,  in  regard  to  their  own 
essence,  but  never  in  addition,  make  use  in  their  teachings,  of 
any  expression  greater  than  their  transcendent  power  or  in- 
herent good  qualities.  For  truth  is  essentially  coexistent  with 
the  gods  as  light  is  coexistent  with  the  Sun.  At  the  same  time 
we  affirm  that  a  God  is  in  no  want  of  excellence  or  any  virtue 
which  can  be  added  to  him  through  words.  Besides  the  angels 
and  demons  always  receive  truth  beforehand  from  the  gods;* 
hence  they  never  say  anything  else  than  this.  Being  every 
one  of  them  perfect  in  their  essence,  it  is  not  possible  to  add 
anything  more  to  it  by  praising. 

When,  therefore,  does  the  untruthful  act  of  "speaking 


*Damaskios  also  declares  that  "a  general  distribution  takes  place 
from  the  One  Origin  of  all  things,  and  Plato  calls  this,  the  Truth." 


98  COUNTERFEITS 

boastfully"  mentioned  by  thee,  take  place?  When  there  oc- 
curs some  errancy  in  the  theurgic  technique,  and  the  images 
which  ought  to  be  at  the  Autopsia  are  not,  but  others  of  a  dif- 
ferent kind  are  encountered,  then  the  inferior  races  assume 
the  guise  of  the  more  venerable  orders,  and  pretend  to  be  the 
very  ones  which  they  are  counterfeiting;*  and  in  such  cases 
they  abandon  themselves  to  boastful  speeches  and  pretensions 
of  power  which  they  do  not  possess.  For  I  think  that  if  any- 
thing spurious  grows  out  like  an  excrescence  from  the  first 
beginning,  there  will  a  great  mass  of  falsehood  flow  forth  from 
the  perversion.  It  is  necessary,  therefore,  for  the  priests  to 
learn  this  thoroughly  from  the  entire  arrangement  among  the 
apparitions,  and  being  on  their  guard  against  this,  they  can 
detect  and  reject  the  misleading  assumptions  of  these  pre- 
tenders as  not  being  spirits  that  are  good  and  true. 

It  is  not  proper  in  the  faithful  judging  of  things  to  bring 
forward  conspicuously  the  errors.  In  the  case  of  other 
sciences  or  arts  we  do  not  pass  judgment  from  the  failures 
that  may  have  occurred  in  them.  Things,  therefore,  which 
through  inexpertness  in  evocation  are  hardly  ever  performed 
quite  successfully  in  ten  thousand  representations  thou 
shouldst  not  characterize  from  the  untoward  incidents,  but 
shouldest  instead  bring  to  notice  something  different  in  re- 
spect to  them.  For  though  the  performances  at  the  self-re- 
vealing displayf  are  such  failures  as  thou  sayest,  boastful  and 
false,  those  of  the  true  adepts  around  the  Fire  are  both  gen- 
uine and  true.  For  as  in  regard  to  everything  else,  the  ruling 
powers  begin  first  by  themselves  and  furnish  to  themselves 
that  which  they  bestow  to  others — as  for  example,  in  essence, 
in  life,  in  action — so  also  supplying  the  truth  abundantly  to  all 
beings,  they  are  true  first  of  all  in  respect  to  themselves  and 


♦Emanuel  Swedenborg,  in  his  Memoirs  and  Spiritual  Diary,  de- 
scribes spirits  of  this  character. 

f  Greek,  ainocpavovq  Sel^ecog  Perhaps  this  refers  to  the  fact 
also  that  at  the  final  vision  witnessed  at  the  Perfective  Rite,  or  Autop- 
sia, the  Beholder  was  revealed  to  himself  in  the  impression  which  it  gave 
him.  Certainly  Plato  and  Alkibiades  regarded  it  with  different  senti- 
ments. 


PHANTASMA  99 

at  the  very  outset  show  their  own  essence  to  the  Beholders. 
Hence,  likewise,  they  exhibit  the  Autoptic  fire  to  the  theurgic 
priests.  For  it  is  not  the  operation  of  heat  to  freeze,  nor  of 
light  to  make  dark  or  to  hide  anything  from  view,  nor  in  any- 
thing else  the  function  of  which  is  to  accomplish  a  particular 
thing,  is  there  the  power  to  perform  some  contrary  operation 
at  the  same  time.  But  on  the  other  hand  those  that  are  not  of 
that  nature  and  are  contrary  to  them  in  essence  are  able  to 
receive  these  contrary  impulses,  or  are  naturally  disposed  to 
fall  into  evil. 

We  say  the  same  things  now  in  regard  to  phantasms,  or 
apparitions.*  For  if  these  are  not  themselves  genuine,  but 
others  of  the  kind  are  so,  that  really  exist,  they  certainly  will 
not  be  among  the  self- revealing  spirits,  but  are  of  the  kind  that 
display  themselves  ostentatiously  as  genuine.  These  partici- 
pate in  deception  and  falsehood  after  the  manner  of  the  forms 
that  appear  in  mirrors ;  and  they  thus  attract  the  understand- 
ing to  no  good  purpose,  in  regard  to  matters  which  never  will 
be  true  of  the  superior  races  but  will  be  among  fraudulent 
deceptions.  For  the  counterfeit  of  that  which  really  is,  and 
that  also  which  resembles  it  faintly,  as  well  as  that  which  has 
become  a  source  of. deception,  are  characteristic  of  the  races 
that  are  genuine  and  distinct  to  the  view.  On  the  other  hand 
the  gods  and  those  that  come  after  the  gods  reveal  true  like- 
nesses of  themselves,  but  never  project  apparitions  such  as 
are  formed  in  water  or  in  mirrors.  Why  should  they  exhibit 
these  phantasms  ?  Would  it  be  to  bring  evidence  of  their  own 
essence  and  power? 


*Professor  Taylor  Lewis  defines  <pdvxaa/za  (phantasma)  as  sig- 
nifying an  apparition.  Chrysippos,  the  philosopher,  gives  the  following 
meanings:  <pavzaoCa,  phantasia,  imagination  which  leads  to  con- 
templation of  the  Cause  or  origin  :  tpavzaaxov,  phantaston,  something 
to  impress  the  imagination  ;  (pavraotLJtdv,  phantastikon,  a  fancy  or  vain 
impulse  from  the  mind  proceeding  from  nothing  truly  imaginable; 
<pdvxacpa,  phantasma,  a  phantom  to  which  we  are  drawn  by  fanci- 
ful attraction.  Liddell  and  Scott  would  define  a  phantasia  as  an  opinion 
presented  from  sensation;  phantaston,  as  something  leading  to  such 
opinion;  phantastikon,  as  the  faculty  of  such  presentation;  and  phan- 
tasma,  as  an  image  presented  to  the  mind  by  an  object. 


100  TRUE  INSTITUTIONS 

On  the  contrary  these  things  are  not  at  all  necessary.  They 
become  a  source  of  error  and  deception  to  those  who  believe, 
and  they  draw  away  the  Beholders  from  the  genuine  knowl- 
edge of  the  gods.  What  useful  thing  do  they  bestow  on  those 
who  are  contemplating  these  things  in  the  epoptic  vision? 
What  profit  can  be  derived  from  that  which  is  false  ?  Yet  un- 
less divinit}7  has  this  nature  will  it  project  a  phantasm  from 
itself?  How  possibly  can  a  race  that  is  stable  and  firmly  es- 
tablished in  itself  and  that  is  the  source  of  essence  and  that 
which  is  genuine,  create  in  an  alien  seat,  a  deceptive  counter- 
feit from  itself?  By  no  means,  certainly,  does  a  god  either 
transform  himself  into  phantasms  or  project  them  from  him- 
self into  other  things,  but  he  causes  to  shine  forth  from  him- 
self true  intuitions  in  the  true  moral  nature  of  the  souls.  Ac- 
cording to  these  facts,  they  also  who  accompany  the  gods  are 
zealous  in  regard  to  the  genuineness  of  the  gods  that  appear 
at  the  Autopsias. 

Next,  however,  thou  affirmest  that  it  is  "a  common  thing 
for  the  gods  and  demons  and  other  races  to  make  likenesses 
and  speak  boastfully  of  themselves. ' '  Such  a  mode  of  speak- 
ing confounds  all  the  races  of  superior  beings  with  each  other, 
and  leaves  no  difference  between  one  and  another.  For  in  this 
view  of  the  matter  all  qualities  will  be  common  with  them  and 
nothing  that  is  choice  will  be  conceded  to  the  exalted  ones.  It 
is  more  just,  therefore,  to  ask  by  way  of  denial :  "in  what  way, 
then,  will  the  race  of  gods  be  superior  to  that  of  the  demons  ? ' ' 
But  the  fact  is,  that  these  races  have  no  common  plane :  it  is 
not  imaginable,  and  it  is  not  proper  to  argue  from  the  last  and 
lowest  races  and  from  the  false  steps  among  the  last  races,  in 
regard  to  the  first  orders  and  the  genuine  impressions  seen  of 
them.  Any  one  thus  thinking  in  regard  to  these  matters  will 
come  close  to  what  is  right,  and  will  become  acceptable  to  the 
gods. 

BECOMING  AT  ONE  WITH  DEITY 

Thou  also  affirmest  that "  ignorance  and  delusion  in  respect 
to  the  gods  is  irreligiousness  and  impiety,"  and  submittest  the 
true  doctrine  in  relation  to  these  things.    In  all  this  there  is 


THERUGIC  UNION  101 

no  conflict  of  sentiment,  but  it  is  confessed  by  all  alike.  For 
who  will  not  agree  that  the  superior  knowledge  which  is  pos- 
sessed of  real  being  is  most  closely  affiliated  to  the  gods,  but 
that  the  condition  of  not  knowing  falls  infinitely  far  away  from 
the  divine  causes  of  true  ideals,  sinking  down  to  non-being? 
As,  however,  there  has  not  enough  been  said  upon  this  matter, 
I  will  add  what  is  wanting;  and  because  thy  statement  is  made 
in  a  philosophic  and  logical  manner  rather  than  according  to 
the  working  technique  of  the  priests,  I  think  it  necessary  to 
say  something  of  a  more  theurgic  character  in  regard  to  these 
matters. 

Be  it  so  that  "not-knowing  and  delusion  are  discord  and 
impiety. ' '  It  does  not  follow  on  this  account  that  the  offerings 
and  invocations  which  are  made  particularly  to  the  gods,  and 
also  the  Divine  Performances  are  thereby  made  fallacies.  For 
it  is  not  the  concept  that  unites  the  theurgic  priests  to  the 
gods:  else  what  is  there  to  hinder  those  who  pursue  philo- 
sophic speculation  contemplatively,  from  having  the  theurgic 
union  to  the  gods  1  Now,  however,  in  actual  truth,  this  is  not 
the  case.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  the  complete  fulfilling  of  the 
arcane  performances,  the  carrying  of  them  through  in  a  man- 
ner worthy  of  the  gods  and  surpassing  all  conception,  and  like- 
wise the  power  of  the  voiceless  symbols  which  are  perceived 
by  the  gods  alone,  that  establish  the  Theurgic  Union.  Hence 
we  do  not  effect  these  things  by  thinking.* 


*Here  Abammon  makes  a  new  departure  in  the  New  Platonic 
philosophy.  Plotinos  and  Porphyry  had  taught  a  system  of  doctrine 
analogous  to  the  later  Persian  scheme,  with  the  Absolute  One  at  the 
summit,  from  whom  proceeded  by  emanation,  the  Over-Mind,  the  Uni- 
versal Soul,  and  Nature.  To  this  Absolute,  there  might,  by  philosophic 
discipline,  contemplation  and  ecstasy,  be  attained  for  brief  periods,  the 
enosis  or  intimate  union.  Iamblichos,  however,  seems  to  discard  this 
doctrine  with  its  theory  of  impassiveness,  and  to  make  theurgic  or 
sacerdotal  virtues  the  condition  of  excellence  by  which  the  divine  part 
of  the  Soul  exalts  itself  even  above  the  Over-Mind,  and  becomes  at  one 
with  the  Absolute.  Hence  he  inculcated  the  utility  of  religious  rites  and 
initiations  as  explained  in  the  reply  of  Abammon.  He  was  followed  in 
this  path  by  Eunapios,  Syrianos  and  by  Proklos,  the  great  light  of  the 
later  philosophy. 


102  THE  EGYPTIAN  MYSTERIES 

For  thus  the  spiritual  energy  will  be  of  these  things,  and 
imparted  from  ourselves;  neither  of  which  suppositions  is 
true.  For  even  when  we  are  not  revolving  these  things  in 
mind  the  sacred  emblems  themselves  are  accomplishing  their 
own  work,  and  the  ineffable  power  of  the  gods  to  whom  these 
emblems  belong,  recognizes  of  itself  its  own  likenesses.  This, 
however,  is  not  from  having  been  aroused  by  our  intelligence ; 
for  it  is  not  in  the  nature  of  things  that  those  that  encompass 
should  be  set  in  motion  by  those  that  are  encompassed,  nor 
things  that  are  perfect  by  those  that  are  imperfect,  nor  wholes 
by  parts.  Hence,  the  divine  causes  are  not  called  forth  be- 
forehand into  operation  by  our  acts  of  thinking;  nevertheless 
it  is  necessary  to  acknowledge  these  and  also  all  the  best  con- 
ditions of  the  soul,  and  the  purity  pertaining  to  us  as  certain 
joint  causes  before  existing.  Yet  the  things  which  arouse  the 
divine  will  as  by  authority  are  the  divine  countersigns  them- 
selves. Thus  the  activities  of  the  gods  are  set  in  motion  by 
themselves  and  do  not  receive  into  themselves  from  an  inferior 
source  any  principle  of  their  characteristic  energy. 

I  have  prolonged  this  discussion  to  this  extent  in  order  that 
thou  mayst  not  be  led  to  think  that  all  command  of  the  opera- 
tion in  the  Theurgic  Rites  is  from  us,  and  that  thou  mayst  not 
suppose  that  the  genuineness  of  these  performances  is  actually 
regulated  by  conditions  in  our  acts  of  thinking,  or  that  they 
are  made  false  by  deception.  For  although  we  may  know  the 
peculiarities  which  are  incident  to  each  race  of  the  superior  be- 
ings, we  may  fail  to  hit  upon  the  truth  in  regard  to  their  opera- 
tions. Yet  without  this  knowledge  the  mystic  union  never 
takes  place ;  nevertheless  the  union  and  the  knowledge  are  by 
no  means  the  same  thing.  So,  the  divine  purity  is  in  no  sense 
by  means  of  the  right  knowledge,  as  that  of  the  body  is  not 
through  health;  but  on  the  other  hand  it  is  more  completely 
one  and  more  pure  than  knowledge.  Nothing,  therefore,  of 
such  qualities  in  us,  or  anything  whatever  that  is  human,  helps 
in  any  way  to  the  accomplishment  of  the  divine  exercises. 

Accept  this  accordingly  which  indeed  is  said  in  addition 
but  is  a  sufficient  reply  to  thy  whole  conception  in  regard  to 
technique  of  Theurgy.    But  those  statements  of  thine  have  the 


DARKNES  AND  LIGHT  103 

same  force  with  these  in  which  thou  acknowledgest  that  "the 
superior  knowledge  in  respect  to  the  gods  is  holy  and  helpful," 
and  callest  the  not-knowing  in  respect  to  things  revered  and 
beautiful  "Darkness,"  but  the  knowing  of  them,  "Light"— 
adding  that ' '  the  former  condition  will  cause  human  beings  to 
be  beset  with  every  form  of  evil  through  ignorance  and  rest- 
lessness, and  the  other  will  be  the  source  of  everything  bene- 
ficial." For  all  these  things  tend  in  the  same  direction  with 
those  which  have  been  mentioned,  and  obtain  a  fitting  notice 
with  them.  It  is  necessary,  therefore,  to  pass  them  by.  and  to 
proceed  with  the  inquiries  respecting  the  Oracular  Art,  in  or- 
der to  resolve  them. 


VII 
ORIGIN  OF  THE  ART  OF  DIVINATION. 


PART  III 

CHAPTER  VII 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  ART  OF  DIVINATION. 

First,  then,  thou  askest  that  it  shall  be  explained  to  thee 
in  detail  what  it  is  that  takes  place  in  the  prognosticating  of 
the  future.  It  is  impossible  to  set  forth  at  once  what  thou 
art  trying  to  learn.  For  according  to  the  gist  of  the  question, 
thou  imaginest  something  like  this  of  the  art  of  prognosti- 
cating :  as  that  it  is  generated,  and  something  existing  in  the 
realm  of  nature.  But  it  is  not  one  of  the  things  that  are  gen- 
erated, nor  what  a  certain  natural  mutation  accomplishes,  nor 
some  ingenious  product  which  has  been  invented  for  useful 
purposes  in  every-day  life — nor,  in  short,  is  it  a  human  accom- 
plishment at  all,  but  divine,  and  beyond  the  realm  of  nature ; 
and  having  been  sent  down  from  the  heaven  above,  unbegotten 
and  eternal,  it  naturally  takes  the  first  place. 

The  chief  remedy  for  all  doubts  of  such  a  kind  is  this :  to 
know  the  origin  of  the  Divining  Art,  that  it  is  neither  set  in 
motion  from  bodies  nor  from  the  conditions  incident  to  bodies, 
nor  from  a  peculiar  nature  and  the  faculties  incident  to  the 
nature,  nor  from  human  preparation  or  experience  pertaining 
to  it ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  not  from  any  skill  acquired  exter- 
nally in  relation  to  some  part  of  which  may  be  attempted  in 

107 


108  THE  EGYPTIAN  MYSTERIES 

every-day  life.  Its  entire  validity  pertains  to  the  gods,  and 
is  conferred  by  the  gods.  It  is  perfected  by  the  divine  Per- 
formances and  symbols,  and  there  are  likewise  divine  specta- 
cles and  learned  theorems.  All  other  things  are  subject  as 
instrumentalities  for  the  gift  of  foreknowledge  which  has  been 
transmitted  from  the  gods.  These  include  both  such  as  relate 
to  our  soul  and  body  and  such  as  are  inherent  in  the  nature 
of  everything  or  in  the  individual  natures  of  every  one.  Some 
things,  however,  are  subordinate  beforehand,  as  being  in  the 
realm  of  Matter ;  such,  for  example,  as  places,  or  other  things 
of  a  like  character. 

If,  however,  any  one  thinking  that  he  is  saying  something 
erudite,  shall  refuse  to  consider  the  primary  causes,*  but  shall 
attribute  the  art  and  faculty  of  divining  to  operations  of  an 
inferior  character,  such  as  to  the  activities  of  bodies,  or 
changes  of  conditions,  or  to  different  movements  or  operations 
of  human  life,  or  to  reasons  of  a  psychic  or  physical  nature ; 
or  if  he  shall  argue  from  the  correspondence  of  these  things 
to  others  as  being  causes,  presuming  that  he  is  setting  forth 
what  is  true,  he  has  gone  entirely  wrong.f    On  the  contrary, 


*The  Causes  are  to  be  understood  to  be  divine  beings.  Plato  and 
the  Stoic  philosophers  regarded  the  art  or  faculty  of  divination  as  incited 
by  a  divine  rapture  or  enthusiasm,  and  an  imparting  of  divine  knowledge 
to  human  beings.  They  also  believed  that  there  were  divine  dreams. 
Xenophanes,  however,  was  a  disbeliever,  and  Pythagoras  rejected  all 
forms  of  divination  by  sacrifices.  Strato  taught  that  the  noetic  faculties 
are  active  in  sleep.  Plutarch  explains  that  when  the  imaginative  part 
of  the  soul  and  the  divine  efflux  are  in  accord,  there  is  a  mantic  inspira- 
tion. The  body,  he  insists,  is  sometimes  naturally  endued  with  the 
faculty  of  divining;  and  in  other  cases,  this  faculty  may  be  set  in  opera- 
tion by  external  and  artificial  means. 

Abammon,  as  will  be  noted,  denies  that  the  sex  of  the  seer  or  ecstatic 
is  an  essential  in  the  technique  of  divination.  The  oracle  at  Delphi  was 
served  by  virgin  attendants,  and  the  shrines  in  other  places  by  persons 
of  some  particular  age,  and  in  a  peculiar  state  of  alienation  produced 
by  fasting,  mesmeric  applications,  ana3sthesia  or  other  artificial  means. 

fAristotle  imputed  the  divining  faculty  to  a  melancholic  tempera- 
ment; others  to  an  inhaling  of  certain  vapors  or  gases,  and  others  to  a 
variety  of  causes.  Abammon  in  subsequent  chapters  treats  of  these. 
Plato  describes  priests  skilled  in  divining  as  "the  interpreters  of  the 
divinity  to  men." 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  ART  OF  DIVINATION  109 

the  one  right  goal,  and  the  one  principle  in  relation  to  all  these 
matters,  will  be  found  to  be :  that  in  no  case  do  we  derive  the 
divination  of  the  future  from  any  of  those  things  that  have  no 
foreknowledge  in  themselves,  but  that  we  shall  contemplate 
the  mantic  power  which  is  apportioned  over  all  the  world  and 
to  all  the  natures  distributed  therein  from  the  gods  who  pos- 
sess in  themselves  the  entire  compass  of  the  knowledge  of  the 
things  that  have  a  being.  For  such  a  cause  is  not  only  primal, 
and,  in  the  fullest  sense,  universal,  but  it  also  contains  in  itself 
primarily  whatever  it  imparts  to  those  that  participate  of  it ; 
and  it  especially  bestows  the  true  knowledge  which  the  divin- 
ing art  requires.  It  likewise  comprehends  beforehand  the  es- 
sence and  cause  of  the  things  about  to  take  place,  from  which, 
of  necessity,  the  attaining  of  foreknowledge  comes  unceas- 
ingly. 

Let  such,  therefore,  be  the  principle  generally,  not  only  in 
relation  to  all  divining  from  which  it  is  practicable  to  find  out 
by  the  mode  of  the  superior  knowing  all  the  forms  of  it,  but 
let  us  also  now  take  it  in  turn,  following  out  the  questions 
which  thou  hast  proposed. 

DIVINATION  BY  DREAMS. 

In  regard  to  divining  in  sleep  thou  remarkest  as  follows : 
"When  we  are  asleep  we  often  come,  through  dreams,  to  a 
perception  of  things  that  are  about  to  occur.  We  are  not  in 
an  ecstasy,  full  of  commotion,  for  the  body  lies  at  rest ;  yet  we 
do  not  ourselves  apprehend  these  things  as  clearly  as  when  we 
are  awake."* 

These  things  of  which  thou  speakest  are  likely  to  take  place 
in  human  dreams  and  in  those  set  in  motion  by  the  soul  or  by 
our  own  thoughts,  or  by  discourse,  or  such  things  as  arise  from 


*We  are  reminded  of  Campbell's  verse: 

"Coming  events  cast  their  shadows  before."  The  person  whose 
faculties  are  acute  thus  perceives  them.  Plutarch  defines  the  matter 
as  follows:  "The  divining  faculty  when  it  has  drawn  itself  farthest 
from  the  present,  touches  on  that  which  is  to  come;  and  it  withdraws 
itself  from  this  by  a  certain  disposition  of  body,  by  which  that  state  is 
produced  which  we  call  Inspiration  or  Enthusiasm." 


110  DEEAMS 

phantasies  or  daily  cares.  These  are  sometimes  true  and 
sometimes  false ;  they  sometimes  hit  upon  actual  fact,  but  they 
go,  many  times,  wide  of  the  mark. 

The  dreams,  however,  which  are  termed  ''God-sent,"  do 
not  have  their  origin  in  the  way  which  thou  describest.  On 
the  contrary,  either  when  sleep  is  leaving  us  and  we  are  begin- 
ning to  awake,  it  happens  that  we  hear  a  brief  expression  in 
regard  to  things  to  be  done;  or  it  may  be  that  the  voices  are 
heard  during  the  period  between  being  awake  and  asleep,  or 
when  we  have  become  entirely  awake.  Sometimes,  also,  an 
invisible  and  unbodied  spirit  encompasses  the  recumbent  per- 
sons in  a  circle,  so  as  not  to  come  to  the  sight  of  the  individual, 
but  to  be  present  in  another  joint  sensation  and  understand- 
ing. It  makes  a  rustling  sound  when  thus  coming  in,  and  also 
diffuses  itself  in  every  direction,  without  producing  any  sense 
of  contact;  and  it  likewise  accomplishes  wonderful  results  in 
setting  free  from  ill  conditions  of  the  soul  and  also  of  the 
body.  At  other  times,  however,  a  light  beaming  forth  bright 
and  soft,  the  sight  of  the  eyes  is  not  only  held  fast,  but  it 
remains  so  even  when  they  had  been  wide  open  before.  But 
the  other  senses  continue  awake,  and  are  jointly  conscious  to 
a  certain  degree  as  to  how  the  gods  are  visible  in  the  light. 
Hence  the  individuals  both  hear  what  they  say,  and,  following 
with  the  thought,  know  what  they  do.  Of  course,  this  is  per- 
ceived more  perfectly  when  the  eyes  are  looking  attentively, 
and  the  mind,  being  in  full  vigor,  understands  the  things  which 
are  performed,  and  the  movement  of  the  Beholders  is  likewise 
in  harmony.*  These,  therefore,  being  so  many  and  so  differ- 
ent, are  in  nothing  like  human  dreams.  On  the  contrary,  not 
only  are  the  peculiar  wakeful  condition,  the  holding  of  the 
sight,  the  seizure  resembling  torpor  (catalepsis),  the  condition 
between  sleep  and  awake,  and  the  recent  awaking  or  entire 
wakefulness,  all  of  them  divine,  and  accordant  with  the  receiv- 


*This  is  similar  in  many  respects  to  the  vision-  of  the  prophet 
Balaam  (Numbers,  XXIV,  15,  16)  :  "Balaam  the  son  of  Beor  saith — 
the  man  beholding  what  is  good  and  true,  saith :  Hearing  the  oracular 
utterances  of  God,  apprehending  superior  knowledge  from  the  Most  High 
— Beholding  the  vision  of  God  in  sleep,  having  his  eyes  unsealed." 


DIVINATION  AND  HEALING  POWER  111 

ing  of  the  gods,  but  they  are  actually  sent  from  the  gods  them- 
selves, and  a  part  of  the  divine  manifestations  precedes  them, 
after  the  manner  of  such  things. 

Banish,  then,  from  the  divine  dreams  in  which  particularly 
there  is  divination,  all  notion  that  "we  are  asleep"  in  any 
sense  whatever,  and  also  the  statement  that  "we  do  not  clearly 
apprehend  the  meaning,"  as  applying  to  those  who  behold  the 
divine  apparitions.  For  not  only  is  the  presence  of  the  gods 
manifest  in  a  degree  by  no  means  inferior  to  those  who  under- 
stand such  things,  but  if  we  must  tell  the  truth,  it  is  neces- 
sarily more  exact  and  distinct,  and  effects  a  more  perfect  con- 
sciousness in  the  former  case  than  in  the  latter.  Some,  how- 
ever, who  do  not  take  cognizance  of  these  proofs  of  dreams 
which  are  truly  oracular,  but  who  think  that  they  are  in  some 
way  common  with  those  that  are  merely  human,  fall  rarely, 
and  by  accident,  upon  those  in  which  there  is  a  foreknowing 
of  the  future.  Hence  they  doubt  whether  there  are  any  dreams 
that  contain  truth  in  any  degree.  Indeed,  this,  it  seems  to  me, 
disquiets  thee  because  of  not  knowing  their  genuine  tokens. 
But  it  is  necessary  that  thou  shouldst  prefer  the  true  meaning 
of  dreams  before  thy  own  notions,  and  follow  out  the  whole 
argument  in  regard  to  divination  during  sleep. 

DIVINATION  AND  HEALING  POWER. 

They  (the  ancient  sages  to  whom  we  have  referred)  like- 
wise affirm  the  following  things : 

The  soul,  having  a  twofold  life — the  one  along  with  the 
body,  and  the  other  separate  from  everything  corporeal — we, 
in  the  case  of  the  other  mode  of  living,  when  we  are  awake, 
make  use  of  many  things  pertaining  to  the  life  belonging  with 
the  body,  except  we,  after  a  manner,  detach  ourselves  from  it 
in  every  respect  by  pure  principles  of  thought  and  understand- 
ing. In  sleep,  however,  we  are  completely  set  free  as  from 
fetters  lying  by  us,  and  bring  into  activity  the  life  which  is 
separate  from  the  sphere  of  generated  existence.  Hence, 
therefore,  this  form  or  ideal  of  life,  whether  it  is  spiritual* 

*Greek,  voegbg  (noeros),  the  pure  reason ;  spiritual ;  from  vobq  (noos), 
or  Hind.    It  is  the  term  usually  rendered  so  in  this  treatise. 


312  MIND  AND  SOUL 

or  divine,  which  is  the  same,  or  only  one  existing  individually 
by  itself,  is  awakened  in  us  and  puts  forth  its  energy  according 
to  its  own  nature. 

DISTINCT  PROVINCES  OF  THE  MIND  AND  SOUL. 

Since,  therefore,  the  mind  contemplates  the  things  that 
have  real  being,  but  the  soul  encompasses  in  itself  the  prin- 
ciples of  all  things  that  exist  in  the  sphere  of  generated  exist- 
ence, it  follows,  of  course,  that,  answering  to  the  cause  which 
comprehends  future  events,  it  prognosticates  them,  as  ar- 
ranged by  their  antecedent  principles.  Besides,  however, 
when  it  joins  together  the  divided  sections  of  life  and  spiritual 
energy  in  the  wholes  (divine  essences)  from  which  they  were 
taken,  it  creates  a  more  perfect  art  of  divining  than  this.  For 
it  is  then  filled  from  the  wholes  with  every  kind  of  knowledge, 
and  thus  most  frequently  attains  to  true  conception  in  regard 
to  the  events  which  are  taking  place  in  the  world.  Neverthe- 
less, when  it  is  united  to  the  gods  through  such  liberated 
energy,  it  receives  on  the  instant  abundances  of  perceptions 
absolutely  genuine,  from  which  it  gives  forth  the  true  oracular 
solution  of  divine  dreams,  and  thenceforth  establishes  the 
absolutely  genuine  principles  of  knowledge.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  soul  interblends  its  spiritual  and  divine  nature  with 
the  superior  beings,  its  mental  images  will  then  be  more  pure 
and  unalloyed,  whether  in  respect  to  the  gods  or  in  relation 
to  beings  essentially  incorporeal ;  or,  to  speak  in  simple  terms, 
in  respect  to  whatsoever  contributes  to  the  truth,  that  which 
relates  to  the  world  of  mind.  If,  however,  it  exalts  the  notions 
of  things  pertaining  to  the  world  of  creation  to  the  gods,  their 
causes,  it  receives  from  them,  in  addition,  a  power  and  a 
capacity  of  knowing  which  reasons  intelligently  both  of  things 
that  were  and  things  that  will  be.*  It  not  only  takes  a  view 
of  every  period  of  time,  and  examines  events  that  are  to  take 
place  in  the  period,  but  it  likewise  participates  in  the  arrang- 
ing, management  and  correcting  of  them.    It  not  only  heals 

*Nothing  resembles  death  more  than  sleep,"  says  Xenophon.  "In 
sleep  the  soul  reveals  her  divine  quality,  and  being  then  set  free  from 
the  bodv  she  beholds  the  future." 


DISCOVERIES  113 

diseased  bodies,*  but  also  restores  to  order  many  things  among 
men  which  were  discordant  and  disorderly.  It  also  gives  forth 
discoveries  of  arts,  proper  regulations  for  the  administering 
of  law,  and  institutions  of  customs.  Thus,  in  the  temples  of 
Asklepios,  not  only  are  diseases  brought  to  an  end  by  dreams 
of  divine  origin,  but  through  manifestations  by  night  the  medi- 
cal art  is  combined  with  the  sacred  visions.! 

The  entire  army  of  Alexander  was  saved  when  in  immi- 
nent danger  of  being  destroyed  in  the  night,  Dionysos  (Bac- 
chus) appearing  in  a  dream  and  indicating  the  way  to  be  deliv- 
ered from  desperate  calamities.!  "  Aphutis,  likewise,  when  it 
was  besieged  by  King  Lysander,  was  saved  through  dreams 
sent  from  Amun;  he  withdrawing  his  troops  at  the  shortest 
notice  and  raising  the  siege  without  delay.§ 

Yet  why  is  it  necessary  to  refer  specifically  to  events  which 
occur  daily,  and  exhibit  an  energy  superior  to  speech?    These 


*  Physicians  and  others  having  the  care  of  the  sick  have  been  indebted 
to  dreams  for  the  discovery  of  many  remedies.  Such  is  the  testimony  of 
Cicero,  Diodoros,  Plutarch  and  others.  Intuitive  suggestion  also  prompts 
to  the  employing  of  the  proper  remedial  measures. 

fAsklepios  or  iEsculapius,  the  patron  god  of  the  medical  art>  was 
called  Oneiropompos  or  sender  of  dreams.  There  were  sleep-houses  at 
his  various  temples,  in  which  "incubation"  or  mesmerism  was  employed. 
The  dreams  which  were  thus  procured  were  interpreted  by  the  prophets 
or  mantic  priests,  and  the  remedies  suggested  if  found  valuable  became 
a  part  of  the  pharmacopoeia.  The  names  of  Cheiron,  Jason,  Medeia, 
seem  to  refer  to  this  practice.  Aristeides,  in  the  reign  of  the  Antonines, 
gives  a  very  full  account  of  this  matter. 

JPlutarch  and  Arrian  state  that  when  Alexander  on  his  return  from 
India  passed  through  Gedrosia,  his  army  suffered  from  famine  and  dis- 
ease. The  mortality  was  prodigious  and  it  required  all  the  energy  of 
the  king  to  bring  forward  the  survivors  out  of  the  trackless  desert.  _  We 
have  no  account  of  the  interposition  of  the  divinity,  but,  after  arriving 
in  Karamania,  an  orgy  or  festival  of  seven  days  was  celebrated  in  his 
honor. 

§Aphutis  or  Aphytis  was  a  city  of  the  peninsula  of  Pallene  or  Phlegra 
on  the  gulf  of  Saloniki.  Pausanias  and  Plutarch  tell  the  story  that 
Lysander,  the  King  of  Sparta,  was  warned  by  a  dream  to  abandon  his 
purpose  of  investing  the  city  and  a  temple  to  the  god  Amun  was  built 
and  dedicated. 


114  TOKENS 

tilings,  therefore,  which  have  been  set  forth  in  relation  to 
divination  from  the  gods  during  sleep,  both  as  to  what  it  is 
and  the  benefit  which  it  affords  to  human  beings,  are  certainly 
enough. 

TOKENS  OF  GENUINE  POSSESSION. 

And  then  thou  affirmest  as  follows:  "In  like  manner, 
many  also  come  to  a  perception  of  the  future  through  enthusi- 
astic rapture  and  a  divine  impulse,  when  at  the  same  time  so 
thoroughly  awake  as  to  have  the  senses  in  full  activity.  Never- 
theless, they  by  no  means  follow  the  matter  closely,  or  at  least 
they  do  not  attend  to  it  as  closely  as  when  in  their  ordinary 
condition." 

Right  here  I  wish  to  show  the  tokens  in  these  occurrences 
of  those  who  are  really  possessed  by  the  gods.  For  they  have 
either  placed  their  whole  life  at  the  disposal  as  a  vehicle  or 
organ  for  the  inspiring  gods,  or  they  exchange  the  human  for 
the  divine  life,  or  else  they  carry  on  their  own  life  in  reference 
to  the  divinity.  They  are  not  acting  by  sense,  nor  are  they 
watchful  as  those  whose  senses  are  aroused  to  greater  acute- 
ness,  nor  do  they  attempt  the  study  of  the  future,  nor  are  they 
moved  as  those  who  are  active  from  impulse.  On  the  other 
hand,  they  do  not  understand  themselves,  either  as  they  were 
formerly  or  in  any  other  way;  nor,  in  short,  do  they  exercise 
their  own  intelligence  for  themselves,  nor  do  they  put  forth 
any  superior  knowledge  of  their  own. 

The  chief  token  may  be  adduced  as  follows :  Many,  through 
the  divine  afflatus,  are  not  burned  when  brought  to  the  fire,  nor 
when  the  fire  touches  them.  Many,  also,  who  are  burned,  do 
not  perceive  it,  because  in  this  case  they  are  not  living  the  life 
of  an  animal.  Some,  also,  who  are  pierced  with  spits  do  not 
feel  it ;  and  others  who  have  been  struck  on  the  shoulders  with 
axes,  and  others  still  whose  arms  are  cut  with  knives,*  do  not 


*This  is  probably  an  allusion  to  the  mutilations  practiced  at  Rites 
like  the  orgies  of  the  Great  Mother.  Similar  suspensions  of  sensibility 
are  reported  in  cases  of  burning  alive  and  the  tortures  inflicted  upon 
religious  devotees.  The  enthusiasm  or  mental  ecstasy  overcomes  the 
corporeal  sensation. 


LEVITATION  115 

mind*  it  at  all.  Indeed,  their  performances  are  not  at  all  nsual 
with  human  beings.  For  to  those  who  are  divinely  possessed 
inaccessible  places  become  accessible :  they  are  thrown  into  the 
fire;  they  go  through  fire;  they  pass  through  rivers  like  the 
holy  maids  in  Kastabalis.f  From  these  examples  it  is  shown 
that  they  who  are  enthusiasts  do  not  have  any  thought  of  them- 
selves, and  that  they  do  not  live  a  human  or  an  animal  life  so 
far  as  relates  to  sense  or  natural  impulse,  but  that  they  ex- 
change it  for  another  more  divine  life  by  which  they  are  in- 
spired and  by  which  they  are  held  fast. 

OTHER  TOKENS-THE  BODY  LIFTED  INTO  THE  AIR. 

There  are  truly  many  forms  of  divine  possession,  and  the 
divine  inbreathing  is  set  in  motion  in  many  ways.  Hence, 
accordingly,  there  are  many  different  signs  of  it.  For  on  the 
one  hand  the  gods  by  whom  we  are  inspired  are  different,  and 
communicate  a  different  inspiration;  and  on  the  other  hand, 
the  mode  of  the  divine  transports  being  changed,  it  occasions 
another  form  of  divine  impulse.  For  either  the  divinity  pos- 
sesses us,  or  we  our  entire  selves  become  the  god's  own,  or  we 
are  active  in  common  with  him.  Sometimes  we  share  the  ulti- 
mate or  last  power  of  the  divinity,  at  another  time  the  inter- 
mediate, and  sometimes  the  first.  At  one  time  there  is  a  bare 
participation  of  these  raptures ;  at  another  there  is  also  com- 
munion; and  sometimes,  again,  there  is  a  complete  union. 
Either  the  soul  alone  enjoys,  or  it  has  it  with  the  body,  or  else 
the  whole  living  individual  shares  it  in  common. 

From  these  diversities  it  follows  that  the  distinctive  signs 
denoting  those  who  are  inspired  are  of  many  kinds.  Not  only 
among  them  are  the  motions  of  the  body  and  of  specific  parts, 
but  likewise  its  perfect  repose,  and  also  harmonious  orders 
and  dances  and  musical  voices,  or  the  contraries  of  these.    The 


*  Greek,  UaQaxoAov&ico  to  follow  a  subject.  It  implies  an  under- 
standing, together  with  a  fixing  of  the  attention  till  external  conscious- 
ness is  lost  sight  of. 

fKastabalis  was  a  city  in  Kappadokia.  In  it  was  a  temple  of  Artemis 
or  Anahita,  whose  priestesses  or  holy  maids,  it  was  affirmed,  walked 
with  bare  feet  upon  the  snow  and  upon  burning  coals  without  harm. 


116  SEEING  THE  SPIRIT 

body  also  is  seen  lifted  up,  or  increased  in  size,  or  borne  along 
raised  up  in  the  air,*  or  there  appear  occurrences  in  relation 
to  it  the  contrary  of  these.  There  is  likewise  to  be  observed 
an  evenness  of  voice  according  to  extent,  or  with  many  devia- 
tions with  intervals  of  silence  and  irregularities.  Again,  some- 
times, the  sounds  are  augmented  or  relaxed  after  the  rules  of 
music,  and  sometimes  after  another  manner. 

DESCENT  OF  THE  DIVINE  SPIRIT  AND  FIRE. 

The  principal  thing  in  the  evoking  of  a  spirit  is  that  the 
spirit  is  seen  coming  down  and  entering  into  an  individual, 
also  its  importance  and  kind,  and  he  is  mystically  persuaded 
and  governed  by  it.  The  form  of  fire  is  seen  by  the  recipient 
before  the  receiving  of  the  spirit,  and  sometimes,  either  when 
the  god  is  descending  or  when  he  is  withdrawing  himself,  it 
becomes  visible  to  all  the  Beholders. f  From  this  manifesta- 
tion the  sign  of  the  god  which  is  the  most  genuine,  the  most 
potent,  and  most  perfectly  ordered,  becomes  known  to  a  cer- 
tainty; and  it  is  not  only  proper  to  proclaim  what  is  true  in 


*M.  Eugene  Salverte  in  his  work  on  the  "Philosophy  of  Magic"  re- 
marks that  in  spite  of  their  master's  assertions  to  the  contrary,  "the 
enthusiastic  disciples  of  Iamblichos  affirmed  that  when  he  prayed  he  was 
raised  to  the  height  of  ten  cubits  from  the  ground;  and  dupes  to  the 
same  metaphor,  although  Christians,  have  had  the  simplicity  to  attribute 
a  similar  miracle  to  St.  Clare  and  St.  Francis  of  Assisi." 

Calmet  mentions  "several  instances  of  persons  full  of  religion  and 
piety,  who,  in  the  fervor  of  their  visions,  have  been  taken  up  into  the 
air  and  remained  there  some  time."  He  adds  that  he  personally  knew 
a  man  to  whom  this  occurred.  Loyola,  the  founder  of  the  Jesuits,  it  is 
said,  "was  raised  up  from  the  ground  to  the  height  of  two  feet,  while 
his  body  shone  like  light."  Savonarola,  who  was  burned  at  the  stake, 
one  person  declares,  was  seen  to  remain  suspended  at  a  considerable 
height  from  the  floor  of  his  dungeon.  Superintendent  Moeller  of  Frei- 
burg testified  that  Anna  Maria  Fleischer  was  "raised  in  bed,  with  her 
whole  body,  head  and  feet  to  the  height  of  nine  ells  and  a  half,  so  that 
it  appeared  as  if  she  would  have  flown  through  the  windows." 

If  the  polarity  of  the  body  can  be  changed  by  the  will,  this  would 
be  a  physioal  possibility. 

f  This  description  presents  a  striking  analogy  to  that  given  by  John 
the  Baptist  in  the  Gospels,  "He  shall  baptize  or  envelop  you  in  a  holy 
spirit  and  fire."  (The  words,  "and  fire,"  are  interpolated.)  "I  have 
beheld  the  holy  spirit  descending  as  a  dove  from  the  sky,  and  it  remained 
upon  him." 


ENTHUSIASM  117 

respect  to  certain  matters,  but  also  to  exhibit  the  power  or  to 
complete  the  rite  with  the  adepts.  But  they  who,  without  wit- 
nessing these  holy  spectacles  at  the  Sacred  Rites,  effect  the 
conjuring  of  the  spirits  in  some  invisible  manner,  grope  their 
way  as  in  the  dark,  and  know  nothing  of  what  they  are  doing, 
except  some  very  small  signs  which  are  manifested  through 
the  body  of  the  person  who  is  divinely  inspired  and  some  other 
things  which  are  plainly  to  be  seen;  and  they  are  likewise 
ignorant  of  everything  of  divine  inbreathing  which  is  veiled 
in  invisibility. 

But  to  come  back  from  this  digression.  If  the  presence  of 
the  fire  of  the  gods  and  an  ineffable  form  of  light  from  without 
shall  permeate  the  individual  who  is  under  control,  fill  him 
completely,  have  absolute  dominion  over  him,  and  encompass 
him  on  all  sides  so  that  he  can  put  forth  no  energy  of  his  own, 
what  sense  or  mental  effort  or  purpose  of  his  own  can  he  have 
who  receives  the  divine  fire !  Or  what  impulse  merely  human 
can  then  insinuate  itself,  or  what  human  reception  of  passion 
or  ecstasy  or  turning  aside  of  imagination,  or  anything  else 
of  the  kind,  such  as  the  many  conceive  of,  may  then  take  place? 

Let  such  as  these,  then,  be  the  divine  tokens  of  genuine 
inspiration  from  the  gods,  which  any  one,  keeping  in  mind, 
will  not  swerve  from  the  right  knowledge  in  regard  to  it. 

ENTHUSIASM  OR  DIVINE  INSPIRATION. 

Nevertheless,  it  is  not  enough  to  learn  these  things  alone, 
nor  may  any  one  who  knows  only  these  things  become  perfect 
in  divine  overknowledge.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  necessary 
to  know  also  what  enthusiasm  or  divine  possession  really  is 
and  how  it  is  developed.  The  conjecture  that  it  is  a  carrying 
away  of  the  understanding  by  a  demonian  afflatus  is  utterly 
false.*  The  human  understanding,  if  it  is  truly  thus  pos- 
sessed, is  not  carried  away.  Not  from  demons,  but  from  gods, 
comes  inspiration.  Really,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  not  simply 
an  ecstatic  rapture  or  trance,  but,  on  the  contrary,  an  exalta- 
tion and  passing  to  the  superior  condition;  whereas  mental 


*Theophrastos,  who  became  the  teacher  in  the  Lyceum  at  Athens, 
after  Aristotle,  regarded  enthusiasm  as  a  disease. 


118  RAPTURE 

distraction  and  ecstasy  indicate  a  general  overturning  to  the 
worse.  Hence,  a  person  declaring  this  may  speak  of  the  results 
in  respect  to  the  entheast  individuals  and  yet  give  no  instruc- 
tion in  regard  to  the  principal  matter.  This,  however,  consists 
in  holding  fast  to  all  these  manifestations  of  divinity  to  which 
the  ecstatic  condition  afterward  succeeds.  No  one,  therefore, 
may  justly  suppose  that  the  entheast  condition  is  of  the  soul 
and  of  faculties  belonging  to  it,  or  of  the  mind  or  of  the  ener- 
gies or  of  bodily  infirmity,  or  that  without  this  latter  concomi- 
tant it  may  not  thus  occur  and  be,  as  a  matter  of  course,  the 
underlying  cause.  For  the  matter  of  divine  possession  and 
inspiration  is  in  no  sense  a  human  attainment,  nor  has  it  an 
origin  in  human  organs  and  energies.  On  the  contrary,  these 
are  subordinate,  and  the  Divinity  employs  them  as  instru- 
ments. Neither  the  soul  nor  the  body  of  the  individual  has  the 
least  agency  in  the  matter,  but  he  exercises  the  whole  function 
of  divination  through  himself;  and  being  free,  with  no  inter- 
mingling of  anything  extraneous,  he  works  according  to  his 
own  nature. 

Hence,  the  vaticinations  being  thus  performed  as  I  de- 
scribe, they  are,  of  a  certainty,  incapable  of  being  untruthful. 
But  when  the  Soul  begins  beforehand  or  is  disturbed  in  the 
meantime  or  takes  part  with  the  body,  and  interrupts  the 
divine  harmony,  the  divinations  become  tumultuous  and  false, 
and  the  inspiration  is  no  longer  true  or  genuine. 

ORIGIN  OP  THE  ENTHEASTIC  RAPTURE. 

Suppose,  accordingly,  that  the  genuine  art  of  divining  was 
a  liberating  of  the  divine  from  the  other  soul*  or  a  separating 
of  the  mind  by  itself  or  an  extending  of  its  purview,  or  that 
it  was  a  vehemence  and  extending  of  energy  or  passion  or  a 
sharpening  and  prompting  of  the  understanding  or  an  in- 


*Pythagoras,  Plato,  Aristotle  and  Zeno  concur  in  the  statement  that 
the  soul  is  itself  of  a  several-fold  nature.  The  "immortal  principle"' 
which  proceeds  from  the  Creator  consists  of  the  faculty  of  intelligence, 
the  episteme  or  overmind,  and  sound  judgment.  The  "mortal  part" 
comprises  the  thumos  or  passionate,  aggressive  quality,  and  the  epithu- 
Kvetic,  appetitive  or  receptive  nature. 


INSPIRATION  NOT  MATERIAL  119 

spiriting  of  the  mind.  All  such  things  being  conditions  -which 
are  set  in  motion  by  our  own  soul,  it  may  be  assumed  with  good 
reason  that  enthusiasm  or  inspiration  has  the  same  origin. 
But  if  the  body  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  cause  of  the  inspired 
rapture  or  trance,  on  account  of  certain  temperaments,  either 
melancholic  or  some  other,  or,  to  speak  more  particularly,  on 
account  of  heat  and  cold  and  moisture,  or  some  form  of  these ; 
or,  in  a  word,  the  mingling  or  tempering  of  them  or  the  breath, 
or  more  or  less  of  these,  in  such  case  the  bodily  condition 
would  be  the  cause  of  the  aberration,  and  it  would  arise  from 
the  physical  disturbances.*  If,  however,  the  origin  arises 
from  both  these,  from  the  body  and  the  soul  so  far  as  these 
are  blended  together  with  each  other,  such  activity  will  be 
common  to  them  as  a  single  living  being.  But  on  the  contrary, 
it  is  neither  an  affair  of  the  body  nor  of  the  soul  nor  of  the 
two  together.  For  there  is  not  in  these  any  cause  of  divine 
aberration,  and  it  is  not  in  the  order  of  nature  for  superior 
things  to  be  generated  from  those  that  are  inferior.! 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  necessary  to  investigate  the  causes 
of  the  divine  frenzy. \    These  are  illuminations  that  come  down 


*Plato  declares  in  the  Timaios  that  the  faculty  of  divining  is  active 
only  when  the  understanding  or  reasoning  faculty  is  in  abeyance,  fet- 
tered by  sleep  or  aliened  by  disease  or  the  entheastic  rapture.  Plutarch 
imputes  its  activity  to  a  certain  crasis  or  condition  of  body  through 
which  it  becomes  separated  from  the  consciousness  of  objects  and  mat- 
ters that  are  immediately  present. 

t  Abammon  seems  to  clash  with  the  modern  dogma  of  evolution  except 
as  associated  with  the  hypothesis  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  James  Martineau,  that 
whatever  is  evolved  or  unwombed  has  been  before  involved. 

X  Greek,  fiavla  mania,  rage,  madness,  entheasm,  religious  excite- 
ment or  rapture.  The  term  is  used  here  to  denote  the  rapture  incident 
upon  being  possessed  by  a  superior  power.  Plato  remarks  in  the 
Phaidros:  "There  are  two  kinds:  one  arising  from  human  diseases, 
and  the  other  by  a  digression  from  fixed  habits."  He  subdivides  the 
divine  mania  or  entheasm  into  four  kinds,  and  assigns  the  mantic  or 
prophetic  inspiration  to  Apollo,  mystic  inspiration  to  Dionysos,  poetic 
inspiration  to  the  Muses,  and  the  passion  of  love  to  Aphrodite.  This  last, 
he  declares  to  be  the  best  of  all  enthusiasms  and  of  the  best  origin, 
describing  it  as  "the  right  hand  of  the  divine  mania,  and  the  source  of 
greatest  blessing  to  us." 


120  MUSIC  AND  ENTHUSIASM 

from  the  gods,  the  inspirations  that  are  imparted  from  them, 
and  the  absolute  authority  from  them,  which  not  only  encom- 
passes all  things  in  us  but  banishes  entirely  away  the  notions 
and  activities  which  are  peculiarly  our  own.  The  frenzy 
causes  words  to  be  let  fall  that  are  not  uttered  with  the  under- 
standing of  those  who  speak  them ;  but  it  is  declared,  on  the 
contrary,  that  they  are  sounded  with  a  frenzied  mouth,  the 
speakers  being  all  of  them  subservient  and  entirely  controlled 
by  the  energy  of  the  dominant  intelligence.  All  enthusiasm 
is  of  such  a  character,  and  is  brought  to  perfection  from 
causes  of  such  a  kind ;  hence  it  is  by  impression,  and  not  with 
precise  accurateness,  that  we  speak  in  relation  to  it. 


THE  MUSIC  AT  THE  AKCANE  RITES. 

In  addition  to  these  things  you  remark  as  follows:  "So 
also  certain  others  of  these  ecstatics  become  entheast  or  in- 
spired when  they  hear  cymbals,  drums,  or  some  choral  chant,* 
as,  for  example,  those  who  are  engaged  in  the  Korybantic 
Kites,}:   those  who   are  possessed  at  the   Sabazian  festival 


*Some  exhibition  of  this  kind  is  described  by  the  Apostle  Paul  in 
the  first  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians.  "If,"  says  he,  "the  whole  assembly 
come  together  to  the  same  place  and  all  prattle  in  tongues,  and  common 
men  should  come  in,  or  unbelievers,  will  they  not  say  that  you  are 
raving?"  Hence  he  counsels  that  only  two  or  three  should  speak  in 
turn,  and  one  interpret;  but  if  nobody  present  is  capable  of  this,  they 
should  keep  silence,  and  speak  only  fo  themselves  and  to  God:  "for  not 
of  tumult  is  he  a  god,  but  of  tranquillity."! 

There  is  evidently  a  deeper  meaning  in  all  this  than  is  commonly 
apprehended. 

tOvid;  Fasti,  IV,  "The  attendants  beat  the  brass,  and  the  hoarse-sounding 
hides.  Cymbals  they  strike  in  place  of  helmets,  tambourines  for  the  shields;  the 
pipe  yielded  its  Phrygian  notes." 

JThe  Korybantes  are  variously  described.  Their  cult  was  identified 
or  closely  allied  to  that  of  the  Kabeirian  divinities,  and  that  of  the 
Great  Mother.  It  was  celebrated  in  the  islands  of  the  iEgean  Sea  and 
in  Phygia.  Music,  dancing,  processions  and  ecstatic  frenzy  were  char- 
acteristics. 


EXCITEMENT  121 

and  those  who  are  celebrating  the  Eites  of  the  Divine 
Mother."* 

It  is  proper,  accordingly,  to  tell  the  causes  of  these  things, 
how  they  came  into  existence,  and  what  explanation  there  is 
for  the  performing  of  the  Rites. 

These  allusions  which  you  make,  namely,  that  the  music 
at  these  festivals  is  exciting  and  passionate ;  that  the  sound  of 
the  flutes  causes  or  heals  conditions  of  aberration;  that  the 
music  changes  the  temperaments  or  dispositions  of  the  body; 
that  by  some  of  the  choral  songs  the  Bacchic  frenzy  is  excited, 
but  by  others  the  Bacchic  orgies  are  made  to  cease;  how  the 
peculiar  differences  of  these  accord  with  the  various  disposi- 
tions of  the  soul,  and  also  that  the  peculiar  wavering  and 
variable  choric  chants,  such  as  those  of  Olympus,  and  others 
of  the  same  kind,  are  adapted  to  the  producing  of  ecstasies f — 
all  of  them  seem  to  me  to  be  stated  in  a  manner  unfavorable 
to  the  entheast  condition ;  for  they  are  both  physical  and  hu- 
man in  their  quality  and  performances,  according  to  our  tech- 
nic,  but  nothing  essentially  divine  appears  in  them. 

We  affirm,  accordingly,  not  only  that  the  shoutings  and 
choric  songs  are  sacred  to  the  gods,  each  and  all  of  them,  as 
being  peculiarly  their  own,  but  likewise  that  there  is  a  kindred 
relationship  between  them  in  their  proper  order,  according  to 
their  respective  ranks  and  powers,  the  motions  in  the  universe 


♦Sabazios,  Sabaoth  or  Sabbat,  the  god  of  the  Planet  Saturn,  was 
better  known  as  Bacchus  or  Dionysos,  and  was  also  styled  in  Semitic 
countries,  Iao  or  Yava.  His  worship  was  more  or  less  associated  and 
identified  with  that  of  the  Great  Mother,  under  various  designations, 
and  it  was  characterized  by  phallephoric  processions,  dances,  mourning 
for  the  slain  divinity  and  the  Watch  Night.  It  came  from  Assyria  as 
its  peculiar  symbols,  the  ivy  or  kissos,  the  spotted  robe  or  Nimr,  and  the 
Thyrso,  indicate.  The  name  Zagreus,  the  Kissos  and  nimr  remind  us 
of  Kissaia  or  Asiatic  ^Ethiopia,  and  the  Zagros  mountains  occupied  by 
the  Nimr.    Assyria  was  called  "the  land  of  Nimrod."— Amos  VIII. 

tProklos  declared  that  the  choral  songs  of  Olympus  were  adapted  to 
produce  esctast.  Plato  describes  an  audience  in  Ion,  comparing  it  to  a 
series  of  iron  rings  connected  by  a  chain  and  moved  by  the  loadstone: 
"Some  hand  from  one  Muse  and  some  from 'another,"  he  remarks,  "some, 
for  example,  from  Orpheus,  others  from  Musaios,  but  the  greater  part 
are  inspired  by  Homer  and  are  held  fast  by  him." 


122  DIVINE  ESSENCE  AND  POWER 

itself  and  the  harmonious  sounds  emitted  from  the  motions. 
By  the  agency  of  such  a  relationship  of  the  choric  songs  to  the 
gods  it  is  that  their  presence  actually  becomes  manifest,  for 
there  is  nothing  intervening ;  and  hence  whatever  has  a  mere 
incidental  resemblance  to  them  becomes  immediately  partici- 
pant of  them.  There  also  takes  place  at  once  a  perfect  pos- 
session and  filling  with  the  divine  essence  and  power.  Nor  is 
this  because  the  body  and  soul  are  in  each  other,  and  affected 
alike  in  sympathy  with  the  songs ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  it  is 
because  the  inspiration  of  the  gods  is  not  separated  from  the 
divine  harmony,  and  being  allied  with  it,  as  being  of  the  same 
kindred,  it  is  shared  by  it  in  just  measures.  It  is,  however, 
aroused  or  checked,  one  or  the  other,  according  to  the  specific 
rank  of  the  gods.  But  this  is  never  by  any  means  to  be  termed 
a  separating,  purifying,  or  a  remedy.  For,  first  of  all,  it  is 
not  dispensed  on  account  of  any  disease  or  excess  or  plethora 
in  us,  but  the  whole  beginning  and  course  of  operation  are 
from  the  gods  above. 

On  the  contrary,  it  is  not  proper  to  say  that  the  soul  origi- 
nally consisted  of  harmony  and  rhythm,  for  in  that  case  the 
entheast  condition  is  an  inherent  property  of  the  soul  alone. 
It  will  be  better,  therefore,  to  bring  our  discourse  back  to  this 
statement:  that  the  soul,  prior  to  the  giving  of  itself  to  the 
body,  was  a  hearer  of  the  divine  harmony,  and  accordingly, 
when  it  came  into  a  body  it  heard  such  songs  as  especially  pre- 
serve throughout  the  divine  trace  of  harmony,  it  followed  them 
eagerly,  recalled  from  them  the  remembrance  of  divine  har- 
mony, is  borne  along  with  it,  becomes  closely  allied  to  it,  and 
partakes  of  it  as  much  as  possible. 

Hence  we  may  generally  explain  in  this  way  the  source  of 
the  divine  faculty  of  divination. 

INSPIRATION  AND  ORGIASTIC  EXCITEMENT. 

Let  us  now  proceed  with  our  reasoning  in  relation  to  this 
subject  of  divination.  We  may  not  affirm  this  at  the  outset, 
namely,  that  Nature  is  leading  everything  to  its  own,  for  to  be 
entheast  is  in  no  way  a  work  of  Nature ;  nor  may  we  say  that 
the  composition  and  quality  of  the  air  and  of  the  environment 


THE  PURIFYING  OF  SOULS  123 

create  a  different  condition  in  the  bodies  of  those  that  are 
entheast,  for  the  divine  products  of  inspiration  are  never  modi- 
fied by  bodily  powers  or  components;  nor  may  we  suppose 
that  the  divine  inspiration  gives  sanction  to  special  conditions 
and  incidents,  for  the  gift  of  the  gods  to  human  beings  is  the 
bestowing  of  their  own  energy,  and  is  superior  to  everything 
of  the  sphere  of  generated  existence.  But  since  the  power  of 
the  Korghantian  divinities  is,  in  a  certain  degree,  of  a  guar- 
dian and  perfecting  character,*  and  the  peculiar  usages  of  the 
Sabazian  worship  make  ready  for  the  Bacchic  enthusiasm,  the 
purifying  of  souls,  and  deliverances  from  old  incriminations, 
their  respective  inspirations  are,  accordingly,  different  in 
every  important  particular. f 

Thou  seemest  to  think  that  those  who  are  enrapt  by  the 
Mother  of  the  gods  are  males,  for  thou  callest  them,  accord- 
ingly, "Metrizontes";  yet  that  is  not  true,  for  the  "Metrizon- 
tesae"  are  chiefly  women.  A  very  few,  however,  are  males, 
and  such  as  may  be  more  delicate.  This  enthusiasm  has  a 
power  that  is  both  life-engendering  and  perfective,  in  which, 
respect  it  differs  from  every  other  form  of  frenzy. 

Proceeding  thus,  after  this  way,  into  what  remains  of  the 
present  discussion,  and  distinguishing  particularly  the  inspira- 
tions of  the  Nymphs  or  of  Pan,  and  their  other  specific  differ- 
ences with  reference  to  the  powers  of  the  gods,  we  shall  treat 
of  them  separately  according  to  their  respective  peculiarities ; 
and  shall,  likewise,  explain  why  they  sally  forth  and  spend 
time  in  the  mountains,  why  some  of  them  appear  bound,  and 
why  they  are  to  be  worshipped  by  offerings.  We  shall  like- 
wise attribute  these  things  to  the  sources  of  divine  authority, 


*In  these  rites  the  worshippers  danced,  forming  a  circle  around  the 
altar.  See  also  I  Kings,  XVIII,  26.  With  the  Korghantians,  this  repre- 
sented a  guard  about  the  Demiurgos  or  Creator;  with  the  Kuretes,  it 
denoted  a  protecting  of  the  divine  maid  Kora. 

fServius  remarks  that  the  Sacred  observances  of  Father  Liber,  the 
Roman  Bacchus,  related  to  the  purification  of  souls.  Tins  cleansing, 
as  here  declared,  was  considered  to  be  not  only  from  contamination 
acquired  by  coming  into  the  conditions  of  physical  existence,  but  also 
from  guilt  actually  incurred. 


124  THE  OKACLES 

as  they  possess  all  power  in  themselves ;  but  we  shall  neither 
affirm  that  an  accumulation  of  refuse  of  the  body  or  soul 
requires  to  be  cleansed  away,  nor  that  the  periods  of  the  sea- 
sons are  the  cause  of  such  ill  conditions,  nor  that  the  receiving 
of  what  is  similar  and  the  taking  away  of  the  contrary  will 
prove  a  remedy  for  an  excess  of  this  kind.  For  all  such  things 
are  set  down  in  the  category  of  the  corporeal,  and  are  entirely 
separate  from  a  divine  and  spiritual  life.  Each,  however, 
succeeds  in  accomplishing  the  operations  which  pertain  to  its 
own  nature.  Hence  the  spirits  that  are  aroused  by  the  gods, 
and  that  excite  human  beings  to  the  Bacchic  frenzy,  overstep 
every  other  human  and  natural  activity,  and  it  is  not  right  to 
compare  their  operations  to  those  taking  place  in  ordinary 
ways ;  but  in  respect  to  those  which  are  utterly  strange,  and  of 
earliest  origin,  it  is  proper  to  refer  them  back  to  the  gods  as 
authors.  One  form  of  divine  inspiration  is,  accordingly,  of 
this  kind,  and  takes  place  after  this  manner. 

THE  ORACLES. 

Another  mode  of  entheastic  divining,  that  of  Oracles,  is 
famous,  and  very  plain  in  many  ways,  concerning  which  thou 
declarest  such  things  as  these,  namely :  ' '  Others  are  inspired 
when  drinking  water,  like  the  priest  of  the  Klarian  Apollo  at 
Kolophon ;  others  when  sitting  over  cavities  in  the  earth,  like 
the  women  who  deliver  the  oracles  at  Delphi;  others  when 
overpowered  by  vapors  from  the  water,  like  the  prophetesses 
at  Branchidae." 

Thou  hast  mentioned  these  three  oracles  by  name,  not  be- 
cause there  are  only  these,  for  there  are  many  more  which  thou 
hast  passed  over  in  silence;  but  since  these  take  rank  before 
the  others,  and  on  account  of  which  are  more  sought,  thou  art 
sufficiently  instructed  in  respect  to  the  mode  of  divining.  I 
will  now,  because  thou  hast  enough  of  these  things,  speak  of 
the  oracular  art  which  has  been  sent  down  to  human  beings 
from  the  gods.  We  will,  therefore,  make  our  discourse  in 
relation  to  these  three,  and  not  let  a  word  fall  respecting  the 
many  other  oracles. 

It  is  acknowledged  by  everybody  that  the  oracle  at  Kolo- 


WATER  AND  INSPIRATION  125 

phon  gives  its  responses  through  the  medium  of  water.  There 
is  a  spring  in  a  house  underground,  and  from  this  the  prophet 
drinks.  On  certain  appointed  nights,  many  sacred  ceremonies 
having  taken  place  beforehand,  he  drinks,  and  delivers  oracles, 
but  he  is  not  seen  by  the  beholders  who  are  present.  It  is 
manifest  from  this,  therefore,  that  that  water  possesses  an 
oracular  quality ;  but  how  this  is  so  not  every  man,  as  the  say- 
ing is,  may  know.  For  it  seems  as  though  a  mantic  spirit  ex- 
tended through  it ;  but  this  is  not  true.  For  the  divine  being 
does  not  go  about  among  its  participants,  thus  divided  and 
apportioned ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  it  shines  upon  the  fountain 
as  though  giving  of  itself  from  without,  and  fills  it  with  the 
mantic  power  from  itself.  The  inspiration  which  the  water 
imparts  is  by  no  means  all  of  it  from  the  god,  but  it  causes  an 
adaptedness  alone  and  a  purification  of  the  light-like  spirit* 
in  us,  through  which  we  become  able  to  contain  the  divinity; 
but  the  presence  of  the  god  is  different  from  this,  and  prior 
to  it,  and  it  flashes  in  from  above  like  the  lightning.  Indeed, 
this  presence  forsakes  no  one  of  those  who,  through  kindred 
nature,  are  in  intimate  union  to  it ;  but  it  is  immediately  pres- 
ent, and  employs  the  prophet  as  an  instrument,  he  neither  be- 
ing normally  himself,  nor  aware  of  what  he  is  saying  or  where 
on  the  earth  he  is.  Hence,  after  giving  the  oracles,  he  recovers 
control  of  himself  at  a  later  moment  with  difficulty.  Indeed, 
before  drinking  the  water  he  fasts  an  entire  day  and  night,  and 
as  he  begins  to  become  entheast  he  withdraws  by  himself  into 
certain  sacred  retreats.  Thus,  by  this  withdrawing  and  sep- 
arating from  human  affairs,  he  makes  himself  pure,  and  pre- 
pared for  the  receiving  of  the  divinity ;  and  through  this  means 

*Mr.  Thomas  Taylor  refers  us  to  the  treatise  accredited  to  Plutarch, 
on  the  "Failure  of  the  Oracles,"  in  which  this  matter  is  explained  at 
length.  The  faculty  of  divining,  this  author  declares,  is  farthest  with- 
drawn from  this  present  condition  by  that  idiosyncrasy  of  body  which 
favors  the  development  of  the  entheast  condition.  "The  soul  does  not 
acquire  the  faculty  of  divining  when  clear  of  the  body,"  he  says,  "for  it 
has  the  same  before,  but  is  blinded  by  the  commixture  and  confusion 
which  it  has  with  the  body."  Hence  he  argues,  "we  do  not  divest 
divination  either  of  divine  origin  or  of  rationality,  seeing  that  we  allow 
it  for  its  subject,  the  Human  Soul,  and  for  its  instrument  an  aura  or 
exhalation  productive  of  the  entheastic  rapture." 


126  THE  FIERY  MIST 

he  has  the  inspiration  of  the  divinity  illuminating  the  pure 
sanctuary  of  his  own  soul,  and  he  likewise  effects  by  himself, 
unobstructed,  the  possession  and  divine  presence  complete  and 
without  impediment. 

The  prophetess  at  Delphi,  however,  whether  she  gives  ora- 
cles to  human  beings  from  a  tenuous  and  fire-like  spirit 
brought  up  from  somewhere  through  an  aperture,*  or  vatici- 
nates sitting  in  the  inner  shrine,  upon  the  bronze  chair  with 
three  feet  or  upon  the  four-footed  chair  sacred  to  the  divini- 
ties,! gives  herself  up  entirely  to  the  divine  spirit  and  is  shined 
upon  by  the  ray  of  the  fire.  In  fact,  when  the  fiery  mist  com- 
ing up  from  the  aperture,  dense  and  abundant,  encompasses 
her  on  every  side  in  a  circle,  she  becomes  filled  by  it  with  a 
divine  luminance,  and  when  she  sits  down  in  the  seat  of  the 
god  she  comes  into  harmony  with  the  unwavering  oracular 
power  of  the  divinity,  and  from  these  two  preparatory  opera- 
tions she  becomes  entirely  the  medium  of  the  god.  Then  truly 
is  the  god  present,  shining  upon  her  separately,  being  himself 
other  than  the  fire,  the  spirit,  their  peculiar  seats  and  all  the 
visible  apparatus  about  the  place,  physical  and  sacred. 

The  woman  also  who  delivers  the  oracles  in  verse  at  Bran- 
chidai,  whether  she  is  holding  the  stafft  which  was  first  pre- 
sented by  a  divinity  and  becomes  filled  with  the  divine  lumi- 


*  Modern  writers  have  conjectured  that  this  exhalation  was  of  the 
nature  of  nitrous  protoxide.  Such  a  deriving  of  prophetic  inspiration 
from  "laughing  gas"  has  a  resemblance  to  the  concept  that  Emanuel 
Swedenborg  acquired  his  illumination  by  drinking  coffee,  and  is  equally 
absurd. 

f  Apollo  and  Dionysos  Zagreus  his  hearth-mate  were  the  divinities  at 
Delphi. 

J  The  staff,  rod,  wand,  scepter,  or  baton,  as  the  symbol  of  authority, 
possesses  the  greatest  antiquity.  It  appears  in  mythology  as  the  scepter 
of  Zeus  charged  with  lightning,  the  caduceus  of  Hermes  that  lulled  to 
sleep,  the  staff  of  Asklepios  with  healing  virtue,  the  narthex  or  thyrsos 
of  Bacchus,  and  the  club  of  Herakles.  Every  Roman  Senator  carried  a 
wand.  The  rods  of  Moses  and  Aaron,  the  staff  of  the  prophet,  the  wand 
of  Kirke,  the  magic  divining  staff  and  the  bishop's  crosier  belong  in 
the  same  category. 


THE  ESTABLISHED  LAW  127 

nance,  or  whether  she  sits  upon  a  wheel  and  predicts  what  is 
to  occur,  or  whether  she  dips  her  feet  or  the  border  of  her  robe 
in  the  water,  or  receives  the  god  by  inhaling  vapor  from  the 
water,  she  becomes  by  all  these  ways  prepared  for  the  recep- 
tion, and  partakes  of  him  from  without.* 

These  things,  therefore,  are  plain  to  view,  namely:  the 
abundance  of  offerings,  the  established  law  of  the  whole  sacred 
Observance,  and  such  other  things  as  are  performed  in  a  man- 
ner worthy  of  a  god,  prior  to  the  oracular  responding,  such 
as  the  baths  of  the  prophetess,  her  fasting  for  three  entire 
days,  her  abiding  in  the  interior  shrine  and  having  there  al- 
ready the  light  and  enjoying  it  a  long  time.  For  these  things 
all  make  it  manifest  that  there  is  an  invoking  of  the  deity,  and 
that  he  becomes  present  as  though  coming  from  outside ;  and 
not  only  that  the  prophetess,  before  she  takes  her  position  in 
the  accustomed  place,  receives  an  inspiration  of  a  wonderful 
character,  but  likewise  in  the  very  spirit  that  is  brought  up 
from  the  fountain  shows  forth  another  divinity  more  ancient 
comes  to  view,  separate-  from  the  place,  who*  is  the  cause  or 
the  author  of  the  place,  of  the  fountain,  and  of  the  whole 
technic  of  divining,  f 


*Branchidia  or  Didymea  was  situated  near  Milletns  in-  Ionia.  The 
temple  was  very  ancient.  It  was  twice  burned  by  the  Persians.  The 
structure  was  of  the  Ionic  order,  but  a  straight  road,  which  led  from  it 
to  the  sea,  was  bordered  on  each  side  with  statues  on  charis  of  a  single 
block  of  stone  with  the  feet  close  together  and  the  hands  on  the  knees 
precisely  as  at  the  avenues  of  the  temples  of  Egypt.  There  was  an 
Egyptian  influence  in  Asia  Minor  and  the  islands  of  the  Levant  in  very 
ancient  times. 

fThe  divinity  here  indicated  belonged  to  the  pantheon  of  Egypt.  He 
was  probably  Imopht  or  Emeph  the  Asklepios  of  the  Egyptians. 


VIII 
THE  DIVINING  ART  UNIVERSAL 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  DIVINING  ART  UNIVERSAL. 

It  clearly  appears,  therefore,  that  the  teehnic  of  divining 
at  the  oracles  accords  with  all  the  hypotheses  which  we  have 
put  forth  in  respect  to  the  mantic  art.  For  such  a  faculty, 
being  inseparable  from  the  constitution  of  places  and  bodies 
that  are  subjects  of  it,  or  preceded  by  a  motion  limited  by 
number,  cannot  always  prognosticate  in  the  same  manner 
things  occurring  in  every  place.  But  being  separate  and  free 
from  places  and  things  that  are  measured  by  the  enumerations 
of  times  as  though  superior  to  those  existing  in  relations  to 
time,  and  from  those  that  are  held  fast  by  place,  it  is  present 
with  objects  equally  wherever  they  are,  and  is  always  con- 
versant at  once  with  those  coming  into  existence  in  time,  and 
likewise  includes  in  one  the  truth  of  all  things  by  virtue  of  its 
own  separate  and  superior  essence. 

If,  indeed,  we  have  stated  these  things  rightly,  the  divining 
power  of  the  gods  is  not  encompassed  in  parts  by  anything — 
neither  by  place,  nor  by  a  divisible  human  body,  nor  by  a  soul 
that  is  held  fast  in  a  single  form  of  divisible  qualities,  but 
being  separate  by  itself,  and  indivisible,  it  is  present  every- 
where in  entirety  with  those  who  are  able  to  receive  it.    Not 

131 


132  THE  EGYPTIAN  MYSTERIES 

only  does  it  shine  from  without,  and  fill  all  things,  but  it  like- 
wise permeates  all  the  elements,  occupies  the  earth,  and  air 
and  fire  and  water,  and  leaves  nothing  destitute  of  itself — 
neither  living  beings  nor  things  sustained  from  the  realm  of 
nature.  On  the  contrary,  it  imparts  from  itself  an  allotment 
of  the  faculty  of  foreknowing  to  some  in  a  greater  and  to 
others  in  a  smaller  degree.  Existing  itself  before  all  things, 
it  is  able,  by  reason  of  its  separateness,  to  permeate  and  fill 
all  things,  according  as  every  one  is  able  to  receive  of  it. 

DECEPTIVE  DIVINATION. 

Let  us  now  examine  after  this  the  other  form  of  divination 
which  is  private  and  not  public,  concerning  which  thou  sayest 
as  follows :  ' '  Others  are  affected  by  standing  upon  indented 
marks,*  like  those  who  have  been  filled  from  an  imperceptible 
inflowing  of  the  divine  pleroma."  Hence  because  of  those 
who  make  a  bad  use  of  this  form  of  divining  it  is  by  no  means 
easy  to  include  it  in  a  single  explanation.  On  the  contrary, 
being  near  at  hand,  and  in  a  pernicious  degree  superficial,  it 
is  employed  by  many  persons  in  falsehood  and  deception  which 
may  not  be  tolerated.  Nor  is  there  any  god  present  at  all, 
but  a  certain  motion  of  the  soul  is  produced  which  is  repug- 
nant to  the  gods,  and  allures  from  them  a  certain  indistinct 
and  phantom-like  apparition  which  sometimes,  because  of  the 
transient  power,  is  likely  to  be  thrown  into  disorder  by  the 
spiritual  emanations  of  evil  demons.  But  an  appearing  which 
chances  to  be  genuine  is  likewise  in  other  respects  distinct, 
pure,  unchangeable,  true,  and  both  inaccessible  and  unob- 
structed by  spirits  of  a  contrary  temper.  In  like  manner  the 
darkness,  from  its  peculiar  nature,  is  not  able  to  remain  under 
the  glowing  sunshine,  but  suddenly  becomes  totally  invisible, 
goes  completely  away  from  where  it  was,  and  takes  itself  off. 


♦Goethe  indicates  a  magic  power  in  certain  marks  or  characters 
when  he  describes  Mephistopheles  as  fastened  inside  the  chamber  by  the 
pentagram : 

"I  must  confess,  my  stepping  o'er 
Thy  threshold  a  slight  hindrance  doth  impede : 
The  Wizard's  Foot  doth  me  restrain." 


/ 


INDENTED  MARKS  133 

So  also  when  the  power  of  the  gods  shines  forth  in  many 
directions,  pervading  everything  with  its  benefits,  the  mob  of 
evil  spirits  has  no  field  of  activity  and  is  not  able  to  manifest 
itself  in  any  way,  but,  on  the  contrary,  falls  back  as  nothing 
into  non-existence,  having  no  nature  for  activity  at  all  when 
superior  beings  are  present,  and  not  being  able  to  throw  them 
into  disorder  when  they  are  giving  forth  light.* 

Whereas,  therefore,  there  is  such  a  difference  in  each  of 
these  classes,  I  will  make  use  of  no  other  tokens  to  distinguish 
them  than  those  which  thou  hast  mentioned.  For  when  thou 
affirmest  that  "some  are  affected  by  standing  on  indented 
marks"  thou  seemest  to  signify  nothing  else  than  the  cause 
of  all  the  evils  relating  to  these  things.  For  there  are  some 
who  overlook  the  whole  matter  of  the  Perfective  Vision,  not 
only  in  regard  to  the  one  making  the  invocation,  and  also  the 
Beholder,  but  they  likewise  hold  in  contempt  the  arrangement 
of  religious  worship  and  the  most  sacred  ordeal  of  encounter- 
ing prolonged  penances,f  and  also  reject  the  sacred  laws  and 
ordinances  and  other  Holy  Rites.  They  consider  the  standing 
upon  indented  marks  to  be  enough,  and  imagine  that  by  doing 
this  for  a  single  hour  there  is  a  certain  spirit  introduced.  Yet 
how  may  anything  worthy  or  perfective  take  place  from  these 
things  ?    Or  how  is  the  eternal  and  real  essence  of  the  gods  to 


*Proklos  explains  that  when  initiatory  ceremonies  are  taking  place, 
as  in  spiritual  manifestations  generally,  baser  spirits  will  often  assume 
the  guise  of  the  superior  genii,  and  draw  away  souls  that  are  not  pure. 
Hence  the  Chaldean  Oracles  declare  that  it  is  not  proper  to  participate 
in  them  till  purity  is  attained.  "They  enchant  the  souls  and  lead  them 
away."  Proklos  says  again,  "In  the  most  sacred  of  the  Perfective  Rites, 
they  say  that  the  candidates  first  encounter  the  multiformed  and  many- 
shaped  races  which  come  to  view  before  the  gods  are  to  be  seen ;  but  they 
go  on  to  the  Mystic  Cave  unswerving,  and  having  been  made  secure  by 
the  Rites  they  receive  the  divine  illumination  without  alloy  into  their 
bosoms,  and  being  stripped,  so  to  speak,  they  partake  of  the  divine  nature. 
This,  I  think,"  he  adds,  "is  what  takes  place  in  the  spectacular  mani- 
festations." 

fin  all  initiatory  rites  a  probation  takes  place  to  test  the  fidelity  and 
endurance  of  the  candidates.  The  "Tortures"  of  the  Mithraic  Initia- 
tions consisted  of  long  fasting,  exposure  to  the  severity  of  the  climate, 
and  terrors  of  wild  beasts  and  the  execution  of  a  capital  sentence. 


134  MODES  OF  ENCHANCEMENT 

be  combined  in  sacred  operations  with  temporary  perform- 
ances? Hence,  through  things  of  this  character,  such  silly  men 
go  entirely  astray,  and  are  not  worthy  to  be  numbered  with 
diviners. 

OTHER  MODES  OF  ENTRANCEMENT. 

In  regard  to  another  kind  of  divination  thou  makest  this 
statement,  namely:  "Others  who  understand  themselves  in 
other  respects  become  divinely  inspired  through  the  fancy:* 
some  taking  darkness  as  accessory,  others  employing  certain 
potions,  and  others  depending  on  singing  and  magic  figures. 
Some  are  affected  by  means  of  water,  others  by  gazing  on  a 
wall,  others  by  the  hypaethral  air,  and  others  by  the  sun  or 
some  other  of  the  heavenly  luminaries. ' ' 

All  this  kind  of  divination  which  thou  describest  as  being 
of  numerous  species  may  be  comprehended  in  a  single  faculty, 
which  may  be  denominated  the  "Bringing  of  Light."  This 
evidently  shines,  however,  with  a  divine- luminance  upon  the 
ether-like  and  brilliant  vehicle t  which  surrounds  the  soul,  from 
which  vehicle  the  divine  imaginations,  being  set  in  motion  by 
the  will  of  the  gods,  take  possession  of  the  faculty  of  imagina- 
tion in  us.  For  the  whole  life  of  the  soul  and  all  the  faculties 
in  it  being  subject  to  the  gods,  are  set  in  motion  in  whatever 
manner  the  leaders  may  desire. 

This  takes  place  in  one  of  two  ways :  from  the  gods  being 
present  in  the  soul,  or  from  the  shining  into  it  of  a  light  com- 
ing beforehand  from  them.  In  either  case  the  divine  presence 
and  the  illumination  are  entirely  separate.  The  attention  and 
the  reasoning  faculty  of  the  soul  are  therefore  conscious  of 
the  events,  because  the  divine  light  does  not  extend  to  these. 
The  fancy,  however,  is  divinely  affected.    As  it  varies  entirely 


*Greek,  tpavraoxixov  Phantasia,  or  imagination  is  defined  by 
Chrysippos  and  Plutarch  as  the  faculty  which  reveals  itself  and  its 
causes;  phantastikon  or  fancy,  the  term  here  used,  as  a  vain  impulse  of 
the  mind  with  no  real  cause;  phamtaston  as  the  imaginable,  anything  that 
may  make  an  impression;  phantasma,  a  phantom,  an  apparition. 

fThe  vehicle  is  called  the  "astral  aura"  by  Paracelsus,  and  Kamarupa 
by  Hindu  sages. 


ILLUMINATION  135 

from  the  habits  of  human  beings,  it  is  not  excited  from  itself 
to  the  modes  of  imagination,  but  from  the  gods. 

Since,  however,  the  contrary  principle,  through  a  change 
throughout  and  absence  from  itself,  is  capable  of  receiving 
its  contrary,  or  that  which  is  akin  or  homogeneous  through 
similarity  may  receive  its  like,  the  light-bringers  likewise 
take  the  darkness  as  an  auxiliary,  and  likewise  employ  the 
light  of  the  Sun  or  of  the  Moon,  or,  in  short,  the  open  air,  for 
illuminating. 

Sometimes,  however,  they  also  make  use  of  established  con- 
ditions such  as  are  familiar  to  the  gods  that  are  about  to  be 
brought  thither,  or  chants  or  dramatic  compositions;  these 
having  been  suitably  prepared  for  the  order  of  reception,  the 
coming  and  appearing  of  the  gods.  Sometimes,  again,  they 
conduct  the  light  through  water,  since  this  medium,  being 
transparent,  is  well  adapted  for  the  receiving  of  light.*  But 
at  other  times  they  cause  it  to  shine  upon  a  wall,  having  before- 
hand made  ready  in  the  best  manner  a  place  in  the  wall  for 
the  reception  of  the  light,  by  sacred  delineations  of  engraved 
figures,  and  at  the  same  time  fixing  it  firmly  in  a  solid  place  so 
that  it  may  not  be  too  much  diffused. 

There  are  also  many  other  ways  for  bringing  the  Light; 
but  they  may  all  be  reduced  to  one,  namely :  to  its  illumination 
in  whatever  way  and  through  whatever  instrumentalities  the 
gods  may  choose  to  shine  forth.  Since  not  only  the  light  is 
from  without,  and  alone  possesses  everything  subject  to  the 
will  and  intelligence  of  the  gods,  but,  what  is  more  important, 
it  has  a  sacred  irradiation  derived  not  only  under  the  aether 
on  high  but  also  from  the  air  or  from  the  moon  or  the  sun, 
or  some  other  celestial  sphere,  it  is  manifest  from  all  these 
things  that  such  a  mode  of  divination  is  unlimited,  primary 
in  operation,  and  worthy  of  the  gods. 


*Damaskios  explains  this  operation:  "There  was  a  sacred  woman 
who  had  a  nature  divinely  endowed  in  a  wonderful  degree.  Pouring 
pure  water  into  a  glass  cup,  she  saw  in  the  water  in  the  cup  the  ideal 
appearance  of  things  about  to  take  place,  and  foretold  from  the  view 
things  that  would  occur.     But,"  adds  he,  "of  such  an  experiment,  we 


ourselves  are  not  ignorant." 


13G  AUGUKY 

DIVINING  BY  AUGURY. 

Come,  then,  let  us  pass  on  to  the  mode  of  divining  which 
is  carried  into  operation  through  a  human  technic,  and  in- 
volves much  guessing  and  expecting.  In  regard  to  this  thou 
speakest  as  follows:  "Some  have  likewise  established  the 
technic  of  searching  the  future  by  means  of  entrails,  birds 
and  stars."  There  are  also  many  other  such  technics,  but 
these  are  sufficient  for  the  exhibiting  of  every  form  of  the  art 
of  divining.  So,  then,  to  tell  the  whole  story  this  method 
makes  use  of  many  signs  or  symbols  which  have  in  various 
ways  been  made  efficacious  by  the  gods.  From  the  divine 
tokens,  according  to  the  relationship  of  things  to  the  signs 
that  have  been  exhibited,  the  technic  in  some  way  arrives  at 
conclusions,  and  guesses  at  the  augury,  inferring  it  from  cer- 
tain probabilities.  The  gods,  then,  create  the  signs  either 
through  the  agency  of  nature,  which  is  itself  subservient  to 
the  generation  of  everything  both  general  and  particular,  or 
e]se  through  the  demons  that  operate  in  the  generative  sphere, 
who,  taking  control  of  the  component  parts  of  the  universe, 
and  of  partible  bodies,  and  likewise  of  all  living  things  in  the 
world,  bring  out  with  facility  the  phenomena  which  are  pleas- 
ing to  the  gods.  They  make  known  beforehand,  symbolically, 
the  purpose  of  the  divinity  that  is  about  to  come,  as  explained 
by  Herakleitos,  "neither  telling  nor  concealing,  but  indicating 
by  signs."  Thus,  by  foreshadowing,  they  impress,  as  by  a 
likeness,  the  manner  of  the  creation.  In  like  manner,  there- 
fore, they  generate  all  things  by  means  of  images,  and  like- 
wise signify  them  beforehand  through  instituted  emblematic 
representations.  Equally,  also,  by  this  means,  they  excite  our 
faculty  of  understanding  to  a  greater  acuteness.  Let  these 
things,  therefore,  be  determined  in  common  by  us  in  regard 
to  all  technic  of  this  kind  that  men  have  devised. 

In  particular,  however,  the  soul  of  living  animals,  the 
demon  that  is  set  over  them,  the  atmosphere,  and  likewise  the 
motion  of  the  atmosphere,  and  the  revolution  of  the  surround- 
ing sky,  transform  the  entrails  in  various  ways  as  may  please 
the  gods.    A  sign  of  this  is  that  they  are  often  found  without 


ABSENCE  OF  OKGANS  137 

a  heart,  or  in  some  way  dismembered  of  some  of  the  principal 
parts,*  of  which,  when  they  are  deprived,  it  is  not  at  all  pos- 
sible that  the  life  should  remain  in  the  animals.  Not  only, 
however,  the  impulse  of  their  own  soul  moves  the  birds,  but 
the  guardian  demon  of  the  animals  also  sets  them  in  motion. 
Likewise,  the  circulation  of  the  atmosphere,  and  the  poten- 
tial force  which  passes  down  from  the  sky  into  the  air,  making 
everything  in  harmony  with  the  divine  purposes,  lead  them  in 
conformity  to  what  the  gods  arrange  originally.  The  most 
important  sign  of  this  is  that  of  the  birds  themselves  tearing, 
and  many  times  actually  destroying,  themselves;  for  this  is 
a  thing  not  natural  for  anything  to  do.  But  this  art  of  divin- 
ing is  a  thing  of  a  superior  nature,  so  that  it  is  a  something 
else  accomplishing  these  things  through  the  birds. 

Moreover,  the  circuits  of  the  stars  come  near  to  the  per- 
petual revolutions  of  the  sky,  not  only  in  space  but  also  in 
powers  and  in  the  radiations  of  light.  But  they  are  moved 
in  whatever  way  the  gods  in  the  sky  impel  them.  For  the 
most  absolutely  pure  and  supreme  principle  of  the  atmosphere 
being  closely  affiliated  to  fire,  they,  as  the  gods  make  the  sign, 
are  also  lighted  up  immediately.  If,  however,  any  one  thinks 
that  certain  auras  of  the  divinities  of  the  sky  are  given  off 
into  the  atmosphere,  he  will  not  have  conjectured  anything 
foreign  to  what  is  often  performed  in  the  divine  art  of  divina- 
tion. The  oneness,  and  also  the  sympathy,  of  everything,  and 
likewise  the  simultaneous  motion  of  the  parts  that  are  farthest 
away  as  though  they  were  near  by  and  parts  of  one  animate 
being,  cause  the  sending  of  these  signs  from  the  gods  to  human 
beings,  first  through  the  sky  and  then  through  the  atmosphere 
appearing  to  men,  especially  brilliant. 

This,  then,  becomes  manifest  through  the  statements  that 
have  been  made,  namely :  That  the  gods,  making  use  of  many 
intermediate  instrumentalities,  send  forth  signs  to  human  be- 


*When  Julius  Csesar  was  assassinated  it  was  affirmed  by  the  Augurs, 
that  the  event  was  foreshadowed  by  the  absence  of  a  head  to  the  liver 
of  the  animal  sacrificed  that  day;  and  on  the  morning  of  the  murder 
of  the  Emperor  Pertinax  the  victims  were  said  one  of  them  to  lack  a 
heart,  and  the  other,  a  liver. 


138  INSTRUMENTALITIES 

ings,  employing  not  only  the  services  of  demons,  but  also  of 
souls  and  the  whole  realm  of  nature ;  they  likewise  leading  all 
these,  their  followers,  from  the  first  beginning  throughout  the 
cosmic  universe,  and  transmitting  the  impulse  which  goes 
forth  from  them  whither  they  please.  Being,  therefore,  them- 
selves separate  from  all  and  free  from  all  relationship  and 
common  nature  with  those  in  the  region  of  generated  existence^ 
they  lead  everything  in  the  realms  of  generation  and  produc- 
tion according  to  their  own  purpose. 

This  explanation  in  respect  to  the  art  of  divination  agrees 
accordingly  with  the  theory  of  the  creation  and  foreknowledge 
of  the  gods,  for  it  does  not  drag  down  the  mind  of  the  superior 
beings  to  this  region  and  to  us;  but  instead,  this,  remaining 
stable  in  itself,  turns  to  itself  not  only  the  signs,  but  likewise 
the  whole  art  of  divining,  and  discovers  them  proceeding 
from  it. 

ERRONEOUS  VIEWS  OF  DIVINATION  CORRECTED. 

Thou  askest  likewise,  in  relation  to  ''the  nature  of  divina- 
tion, what  it  is  and  what  is  its  peculiar  character."  This 
we  have  explained  already,  both  generally  and  specifically. 
But  thou,  first  of  all,  hast  put  forth  this  statement:  "The 
diviners  all  say  that  they  arrive  at  the  foreknowing  of  the 
future  through  gods  or  demons,*  and  that  it  is  not  possible 
for  others  to  have  any  inkling  of  it — only  those  who  have  com- 
mand over  the  things  to  be."  Thou  then  remarkest,  as  if 
hesitating:  "I  dispute  whether  the  divine  power  is  brought 
down  to  such  subserviency  to  human  beings,  as,  for  instance, 
not  to  hold  aloof  from  any  who  are  diviners  with  barley  meal." 

But  when  thou  appliest  the  term  "subserviency"  to  the 
providential  care  and  protection  that  we  enjoy  thou  failest 
to  understand  aright  the  vastness  of  the  power  of  the  gods, 
the  goodness  transcending  and  the  causality  which  includes 


*There  are  three  modes  of  forecasting:  prophecy,  divination  and 
guessing;  and  they  are  referred  respectively  to  divinity,  demons  and 
observation  of  the  course  of  things.  Demons  appear  to  be  the  same  as 
the  "angels"  of  the  Judnean  and  Christian  theology.  "Both  gods  and 
demons  have  a  certain  and  unerring  knowledge  of  things  to  come,"  says 
Proklos. 


THE  MODE  OF  ENERGY  139 

all  things.  Besides,  thou  overlookest  the  mode  of  energy,  that 
it  is  neither  attracted  downward  nor  turned  toward  us,  but 
precedes  us,  as  being  separate  from  us  and  entirely  distinct. 
It,  indeed,  imparts  itself  to  the  recipients,  but  in  this  it  neither 
goes  out  from  itself  nor  becomes  lessened,  nor  is  subservient 
to  those  that  participate  of  it.  On  the  contrary,  it  makes  use 
of  all  as  being  subservient  to  itself. 

The  observation  which  thou  hast  suggested  appears  to  me 
to  be  a  complete  mistake  in  another  particular.  If  we  take 
for  granted  that  the  doings  of  the  gods  are  similar  to  those 
of  men,  there  will  a  question  arise  as  to  how  they  are  per- 
formed. For  in  supposing  that  because  we  ourselves  undergo 
changes,  and  are  sometimes  affected  by  the  conditions  of  vari- 
ous affairs  to  which  we  are  attending,  on  this  very  account 
thou  dost,  in  the  concept  that  the  power  of  the  gods  is  at  all 
subservient  to  those  that  are  governed  by  it,  conjecture  wrong- 
ly. Neither  in  the  making  of  worlds  nor  in  the  foresight  of 
the  realm  of  generated  existence  nor  in  the  divining  in  respect 
to  it,  is  the  divine  power  ever  attracted  from  its  sphere  to 
those  that  participate  of  the  outflow.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
it  shares  its  benefits  with  all,  and  makes  all  to  be  like  itself. 
It  not  only  serves  those  abundantly  that  belong  to  its  circle, 
but  the  more  it  remains  by  itself  so  much  the  more  it  is  filled 
from  its  own  stores.  It  does  not  itself  become  of  the  quality 
of  those  that  participate  of  it,  but  it  renders  its  partakers 
similar  to  itself.  It  preserves  them  in  every  way,  but  remains 
complete  in  itself;  it  includes  them  within  its  own  sphere, 
but  at  the  same  time  is  neither  mastered  nor  encompassed 
by  any  one  of  them.  In  vain,  therefore,  does  an  undermean- 
ing  of  such  a  kind  cause  annoyance  to  individuals,  for  the 
god  is  not  divided  and  portioned  out  as  a  commodity  among 
the  different  modes  of  divining,  but  without  such  division  it 
produces  them  all.  Nor  does  he  bring  different  matters  to 
completion  separately  in  regard  to  time,  and  in  different  ways, 
but  operates  them  all  together  at  once  and  according  to  one 
design.  Nor  is  he  held  fast  in  respect  to  signs,  as  being  en- 
compassed by  them  or  parceled  out  by  them.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  arranges  signs  in  himself  in  a  single  order,  and  like- 


140  SOULLESS  OBJECTS 

wise  includes  them  in  one  concept,  and  issues  them  forth  from 
himself  according  to  a  single  purpose. 

If,  however,  the  power  of  the  gods  in  this  matter  of  prog- 
nostication extends  to  objects  without  soul,  such  as  little  peb- 
bles, rods,  certain  trees,  stones,  wheat  or  barley  meal,*  this 
is  itself  a  most  wonderful  form  of  predicting  by  divine  vatici- 
nation, because  it  is  an  imparting  of  soul  to  things  that  are 
without  soul,  and  motion  to  objects  that  of  themselves  are 
incapable  of  moving,  and  makes  everything  clear  and  know- 
able,  participant  of  the  reasoning  faculty,  and  definable  ac- 
cording to  the  measures  of  intelligence,  and  yet  having  noth- 
ing of  rationality  by  themselves. 

Another  thing  which  the  god  brings  to  notice  in  the  dis- 
plays appears  to  me  to  be  nothing  less  than  a  superhuman 
wonder :  for  as  he  sometimes  makes  a  man  of  moderate  attain- 
ments and  understanding  utter  apothegms  full  of  wisdom, 
through  which  it  is  made  plain  that  the  occurrence  is  not  a 
human,  but  a  divine  performance,  so  through  agencies  desti- 
tute of  knowledge  he  reveals  perceptions  which  were  prior 
to  any  knowing.  At  the  same  time  the  god  makes  it  manifest 
to  individuals  that  the  signs  and  tokens  which  are  exhibited 
are  worthy  of  belief,  and  that  he  is  superior  to  the  realm  of 
nature,  and  exalted  above  it. 

Thus  the  things  in  the  realm  of  nature  which  were  unknown 
he  makes  known,  and  those  which  are  unknowable  he  makes 
knowable.  Not  only  does  he,  through  these,  implant  sagacity 
in  us,  but  he  also,  through  everything  that  is  in  the  universe, 
sets  our  mind  in  motion  toward  the  knowledge  of  the  truth — 
of  the  things  that  are,  of  the  things  that  are  coming  into  exist- 
ence, and  the  things  that  will  be — the  Past,  Present  and 
Future. 


♦Various  modes  of  divining  were  employed.  We  read  that  the 
patriarch  Joseph  divined  with  his  cup  (Genesis,  xiv,  5)  :  the  Syrian 
ambassadors  took  the  mode  of  reply  from  Ahab  as  a  token  (/  Kings, 
xx,  33).  The  Skyths  and  other  ancient  peoples  divined  with  rods  of 
tamarisk.  Laurel  leaves  were  also  used.  The  King  of  Babylon  decided 
to  lead  his  army  against  Jerusalem,  after  a  divination  with  arrows 
(Ezekiel,  xxi,  21,  22).  The  lot  was  common;  indeed  it  was  supposed 
that  the  conditions  of  life  in  the  earth  were  established  by  such  allotment. 


DIVINITIES  AT  THE  EITES  141 

From  these  considerations  it  is  evident,  I  think,  that  the 
mode  of  divination  is  absolutely  contrary  to  those  ways  which 
thou  dost  mistrust  and  suppose;  for  it  is  authoritative,  and 
first  in  operation,  and  likewise  self-governing  and  transcend- 
ent, encompassing  all  things  in  itself,  but  not  itself  encom- 
passed by  any,  or  enclosed  in  limited  conditions  by  its  partici- 
pants. On  the  other  hand,  it  takes  its  place  above,  and  exer- 
cises authority  over  all  as  a  single  assemblage,  without  dis- 
tinctions, but  ruling  over  the  whole  with  unlimited  power,  and 
giving  forth  signs  and  portents  collectively. 

Thou  wilt,  therefore,  from  these  premises,  easily  resolve 
those  doubts  which  are  personal  and  annoying  to  many  indi- 
viduals, and  duly  raise  thyself  to  the  perception  of  the  spirit- 
ual, divine  and  undeceptive  foretokens  of  the  gods  that  are 
manifested  from  all  sources. 

We  contend,  therefore,  that  the  divine  power  is  not  brought 
down  into  the  signs  and  symbols  of  the  art  of  divination. 

THE  DIVINITIES  PRESENT  AT  THE  RITES 

Another  controversy  now  awaits  us,  not  less  in  significance 
than  the  one  which  has  just  been  finished.  Thou  introducest 
it  at  once  in  regard  to  the  divinities  that  are  the  causative 
powers  in  the  art  of  divination,  by  questioning  ''whether  a 
god  or  angel  or  demon,  or  some  other  such  being,  is  present 
at  the  manifestations  (epiphanies)  or  at  the  divinations  or 
at  any  of  the  Sacred  Performances." 

The  simple  reply  which  we  make  to  this  is  that  it  is  not 
possible  for  the  Divine  Performances  to  be  carried  on  in  a 
manner  befitting  sacred  matters  without  some  one  of  the  supe- 
rior races  being  present,  beholding  and  making  the  Sacred 
Performances  complete.*  Accordingly,  when  the  procedures 
are  perfect,  sufficient  of  themselves,  and  without  defect,  gods 
are  their  directors.  But  when  they  are  only  suitable  for  the 
intermediary  races  (as  angels  and  demons),  and  fall  some- 
what short  of  what  is  due  to  the  highest  beings,  then  they  have 
angels  to  make  them  complete  and  make  the  exhibitions.    But 


*See  Deceptive  Divination,  page  132. 


142  THE  GODS  SUPERIOR  TO  NECESSITY 

those  which  are  classed  as  lowest  and  last  are  assigned  to  the 
demons  to  be  performed. 

The  successful  accomplishment  of  the  divine  services  is 
always  confided  to  some  one  of  the  superior  orders.  Since  it 
is  not  permissible,  without  the  gods,  even  to  prattle  a  word 
in  respect  to  the  gods,  it  may  be  taken  for  granted  that  god- 
like achievements  and  all  forms  of  prognostication  are  not 
conducted  successfully  except  with  the  gods  present.  For  the 
human  tribe  is  weak  and  of  little  account;  it  sees  but  little, 
and  possesses  nothing  by  nature.  But  for  the  inherent  ten- 
dency in  it  for  wandering,  disorder  and  unstable  changing, 
the  one  remedy  is  whether  it  may  participate,  so  far  as  it  is 
able,  of  some  portion  of  the  divine  light.  But  whoever  seeks 
to  exclude  this  does  the  same  thing  as  those  who  attempt  to 
develop  a  soul  from  objects  that  are  without  soul,  or  generate 
mind  from  those  destitute  of  mind.  For  he  proposes  without 
the  agency  of  a  divine  cause  to  create  divine  works  from  mate- 
rials that  are  not  divine. 

Let  it  be  conceded,  then,  that  a  god  or  demon  or  angel  is 
bringing  the  superior  rites  to  completeness.  We  do  not  grant 
in  the  least  what  thou  throwest  out  as  an  acknowledged  fact, 
namely :  That  the  superior  beings  bring  these  things  to  pass, 
''as  having  been  drawn  thither,  through  us,  by  the  necessities 
created  by  the  invocation. ' '  For  the  god,  and  the  entire  chorus 
of  superior  beings  connected  with  him,  are  superior  to  neces- 
sity— not  alone  from  the  necessity  which  is  induced  by  human 
beings,  but  also  that  necessity  which  holds  the  world  in  its 
grasp.  Hence,  it  is  not  the  province  of  the  nature  which  is 
non-material,  and  not  receptive  of  any  acquired  order,  to  be 
subservient  to  any  necessity  coming  in  from  elsewhere. 

Then,  again,  the  invocation  and  the  rites  performed  by  the 
adept  in  superior  knowledge  bring  them  to  the  superior  races 
and  attach  them  together  by  becoming  assimilated  and  of  the 
same  household;  but  they  never  bring  their  operations  to 
completion  by  compulsory  endeavor.  Hence,  the  occurrences 
are  not  observed  in  the  persons  entranced,  as  thou  thinkest, 
the  theurgic  adept  being  in  a  passive  condition ;  nor  is  divin- 
ing effected  through  a  necessity,  a  passive  condition  being 


A  DIVINE  OPERATION  143 

dominant  in  the  delivering  of  the  oracle.  For  these  condi- 
tions are  foreign  to  the  essence  of  the  superior  beings,  and 
in  other  respects  unsuitable. 

DIVINATION  PURELY  A  DIVINE  OPERATION. 

On  the  contrary,  neither  is  the  cause  of  these  manifesta- 
tions of  the  superior  beings  like  an  intermediate  instrumen- 
tality, nor  does  the  person  who  makes  the  invocations  act 
through  the  one  that  is  entranced ;  and  to  assert  these  things 
is  sacrilegious.  For  this  is  much  more  true,  namely:  That 
God  is  all,  he  is  all-powerful,  he  has  filled  all  from  himself, 
and  he  alone  is  worthy  of  highest  regard,  praise  and  supreme 
honor.* 


*Mr.  Thomas  Taylor  adds  this  note:  "God  is  all  things  causally, 
and  is  able  to  effect  all  things.  He  likewise  does  produce  all  things, 
yet  not  by  himself  alone,  but  in  conjunction  with  those  divine  powers 
which  continually  germinate,  as  it  were,  from  him,  as  from  a  perennial 
root.  Not  that  he  is  in  want  of  these  powers  to  the  efficacy  of  his  pro- 
ductive energy,  but  the  universe  requires  their  cooperation,  in  order 
to  the  distinct  subsistence  of  its  various  parts  and  different  forms.  For 
as  the  essence  of  the  first  cause,  if  it  be  lawful  so  to  speak,  is  full  of  deity, 
his  immediate  energy  must  be  deific,  and  his  first  progeny  must  be  gods. 
But  as  he  is  ineffable  and  superessential,  all  things  proceed  from  him 
ineffably  and  superessentially.  For  progressions  are  conformable  to 
the  characteristics  of  the  natures  from  which  they  proceed.  Hence  the 
cooperative  energy  of  his  first  progeny  (the  minor  gods)  is  necessary 
to  the  evolution  of  things  into  effable,  essential  and  distinct  subsistence. 
The  supreme  God,  therefore,  is  alone  worthy;  but  this  is  not  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  paying  appropriate  attention  and  honor  to  other  powers  that 
are  subordinate  to  him,  who  largely  participate  of  his  divinity,  and  are 
more  or  less  allied  to  him.  For  in  reverencing  and  paying  attention  to 
these  appropriately,  we  also  attend  to  and  reverence  him.  For  that 
which  we  attend  to,  honor  and  esteem  in  them,  is  that  alone  which  is  of 
n  deified  nature,  and  is  therefore  a  portion,  as  it  were,  of  the  ineffable 
principle  of  all  things. 

"Mighty  study  and  labor  about  these  intermediate  powers  is  neces- 
sary in  order  to  our  union  with  their  ineffable  cause.  For  as  we  are 
but  the  dregs  of  the  rational  nature,  and  the  first  principle  of  things 
is  something  so  transcendent  as  to  be  even  beyond  essence,  it  is  impossible 
that  we  should  be  united  to  him  without  media :  viz.,  without  the  gods 
and  their  perpetual  attendants,  who  are  on  this  account,  true  saviors 
of  souls.  For  in  a  union  with  the  supreme  deity  our  true  salvation 
consists." 


144  THE  HUMAN  INSIGNIFICANT 

What  is  human  when  it  is  compared  with  the  divine  is 
base,  insignificant,  and  a  mere  plaything.  Hence,  I  laugh 
when  I  hear  that  the  god  is  automatically  present  with  certain 
persons  or  objects,  whether  through  the  Cycle  of  nativity  or 
through  other  causes.  For  if  he  is  controlled  by  the  Cycle 
of  nativity  the  unbegotten  divinity  will  not  then  be  the  supe- 
rior ;  nor  will  he,  as  he  is  himself  arranged  with  certain  things 
with  reference  to  other  causes,  be  primarily  a  cause  of  all 
things.  These  suggestions,  therefore,  are  also  unworthy  of 
the  conception  which  we  should  entertain  in  regard  to  the 
gods,  and  are  entirely  foreign  to  the  performances  which  take 
place  in  Theurgy.* 

Such  inquiry,  however,  is  subject  to  the  same  condition 
which  the  many  experience  in  regard  to  the  Creation  of  the 
universe  and  providence.  For  not  being  able  to  learn  what  is 
the  nature  of  these,  and  likewise  discarding  the  deep  thoughts 
and  arguments  of  individuals  in  respect  to  the  divine  beings, 
they  take  all  recognition  of  providence  and  creation  entirely 
away  from  them. 

We  are  accustomed  to  meet  these  individuals  with  the  an- 
swer that  the  divine  mode  of  creation  and  guardianship  is 
different  from  what  they  suppose  of  such  things,  and  that  it 
is  not  proper  for  them,  because  of  their  ignorance,  to  reject 
it  as  not  having  existed  from  the  beginning.  So,  likewise,  it 
may  be  pleaded  with  thee  that  all  foreknowledge  and  doing 
of  sempiternal  works  are  the  works  of  gods,  and  are  neither 
performed  through  necessity  nor  through  different  human 
causes,  but  wrought  through  such  causes  as  the  gods  alone 
know. 

DIVINATION  NOT  A  FACULTY  OF  THE  SOUL. 

Passing  these  things  by  accordingly,  we  may  now,  with 
good  reason,  proceed  to  explain  the  second  cause  which  thou 


*The  sentiment  here  enforced  is  that  no  prayer  or  rite  has  any 
efficacy  to  attract  a  divine  being,  and  so  bring  down  God,  but  rather 
it  exalts  the  worshipper  to  the  Divinity.  Proklos  also  says:  "In  the 
invocations  and  at  the  Autopsia,  the  divine  essence  seems  after  a  manner 
to  come  down  to  us,  when  really  we  are  extending  ourselves  to  it  instead." 


IGNORANCE  145 

hast  set  forth,  namely:  "That  the  soul  utters  and  imagines 
these  things,  and  that  they  are  peculiar  conditions  of  it,  which 
have  been  produced  from  little  sparks."* 

On  the  contrary,  neither  are  these  things  from  the  realm 
of  nature,  nor  does  the  reasoning  faculty  accept  them.  For 
everything  that  comes  into  existence  comes  from  a  specific 
cause,  and  that  which  is  of  kindred  nature  is  brought  to  pass 
by  that  which  is  akin  to  it.  But  the  divine  operation  is  not 
automatic,  for  such  a  thing  is  without  a  cause  and  not  in  any 
way  arranged.  Nor  is  it  the  product  of  a  human  cause,  for 
this  is  alien  to  it  and  subordinate,  and  that  which  is  more 
perfect  cannot  issue  from  that  which  is  less  perfect.!  All 
operations,  therefore,  which  are  like  divinity  in  their  nature 
have  their  inception  from  a  divine  cause.  For  the  human  soul 
is  held  fast  by  a  solitary  ideal,  and  is  kept  in  the  dark  by  the 
body  on  every  side.  Whether  this  condition  is  termed  the 
river  Amalete  or  water  of  Lethe  or  ignorance  and  insanity 
or  bondage  through  passive  conditions  or  deficiency  of  vital 
force,  or  some  other  evil  thing,  it  will  not  be  a  name  suffi- 
ciently expressive  to  denote  its  badness.  J 


♦Plutarch:  Why  the  Oracles  Cease  to  Give  'Answers.  39. — "The 
soul  does  not  have  the  faculty  of  divining  when  clear  of  the  body  as  from 
a  cloud;  but  it  is  blinded  by  its  commingling  and  confusion  with  the 
mortal  nature." 

fRev.  James  Martineau:  Place  of  Mind  in  Nature. — "Surely 
nothing  can  be  evolved  that  is  not  first  involved.  Evolution  and  pros- 
pection  are  inseparable  conceptions.  Go  back  as  you  will,  and  try  to 
propel  the  movement  from  behind  instead  of  drawing  it  from  before, 
development  in  a  definite  direction  toward  the  realization  of  a  dominant 
scheme  of  ascending  relations,  is  the  sway  of  an  over-ruling  end." 

X "Amalete"  signifies  carelessness,  negligence;  "Lethe"  means  the 
extinction  of  remembrances ;  ignorance  is  inability  for  real  knowing. 
Plato  in  the  "Republic,"  Book  X,  describes  a  vision  in  which  the  souls 
are  seen  in  the  act  of  selecting  for  themselves  the  quality  of  a  new  life 
in  the  earth.  By  the  choice  they  make,  their  guardian  demon  is  allotted 
to  them.  Then  they  drink  the  water  of  Lethe  "which  no  vessel  contains" 
and  forget  all  the  past. 

Irenaeos,  cavilling  at  Plato,  demanded  how  he  knew  all  this;  adding 
that  if  he  knew  part  he  ought  to  know  all.  He  seems  to  have  overlooked 
the  fact  of  a  mantic  or  supraconscious  condition  in  which  such  things 
may  be  known  as  they  are  perceived,  to  an  extent  commensurate  with  the 
development  of  the  intuitive  faculty. 


146  MINGLED  SUBSTANCE 

The  soul  being  held  by  such  restraint,  how  may  it  become 
sufficient  for  such  an  operation?  It  is  by  no  means  reasonable 
to  suppose  such  a  thing.  For  if  we  seem  at  any  time  to  be 
able  to  effect  a  participation,  and  to  be  enlightened  by  the 
gods,  it  is  by  this  alone  that  we  derive  benefit  of  the  divine 
energy.  On  this  account,  the  soul  not  possessing  intrinsic 
excellence  and  sagacity,  it  does  not  participate  of  the  divine 
oj^erations.  Indeed,  if  such  operations  pertained  to  the  soul, 
every  soul,  or  at  least  the  solitary  one  endowed  with  intrinsic 
completeness,  would  perform  them.  Now,  however,  not  one 
or  another  of  them  is  sufficiently  prepared  for  this.  On  the 
contrary,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  divine  energy,  even  the  per- 
fect soul  is  incomplete. 

The  theurgic  energy,  therefore,  is  different,  and  the  suc- 
cessful accomplishment  of  the  divine  works  is  enabled  by 
the  gods  alone.  If  the  fact  were  otherwise  this  would  not  be 
at  all  necessary  in  the  service  of  the  gods,  but  we  would  have 
the  divine  boons  in  this  case  without  religious  worship.  If 
these  opinions  are  like  madness,  and  without  sense,  it  is  proper 
to  discard  such  undermeanings  as  furnishing  a  cause  worthy 
of  mention  for  the  fulfilling  of  divine  operations. 

DIVINATION  NOT  OF  TWOFOLD  OPJGIN. 

Thirdly,  thou  subjoinest  the  following  statement,  namely: 
"That  there  is  a  mingled  form  of  substance  produced  from 
our  own  soul  and  from  the  divine  inbreathings  from  without." 
Is  it  any  more  true  than  the  others'? 

Look  at  this  more  critically,  lest  from  being  entangled 
by  its  apparent  plausibility,  we  pass  it  by  without  noticing. 
For  if  any  one  thing  is,  perchance,  brought  into  existence  from 
two,  it  is  generally  alike  in  form,  alike  in  nature,  and  alike  in 
essence.  So  the  elements  coming  together  into  the  same  asso- 
ciation produce  one  specific  element  out  of  many,  and  many 
souls  are  joined  together  into  one  entire  soul.  Certainly,  how- 
ever, anything  which  is  completely  taken  away  cannot  ever 
become  one  with  that  which  is  going  forth  from  itself;  neither 
may  the  soul  be  constituted  of  one  form  of  substance  with 


A  PARADOXIC  OPINION  147 

the  divine  inbreathing.  For  if  the  divine  nature  is  unmin- 
gled  the  soul  is  not  commingled  with  it,  and  if  it  subsists  un- 
changeable it  will  not  be  changed  through  any  combination 
from  its  simple  essence  into  any  community  of  elements  with 
anything  else. 

Certain  individuals  of  former  times  were,  therefore,  of 
the  opinion  that  "small  sparks"  kindled  up  divine  ideals  in 
us,  which,  whether  they  are  from  the  realm  of  nature  or  of  the 
nature  of  the  body  in  some  other  manner,  cannot  be  changed 
from  things  of  chance  into  things  divine.  In  the  present  in- 
stance, however,  the  suggestion  is  made  that  the  soul  is  a  joint 
element  in  the  divine  commixture.  This  is  equivalent  to  say- 
ing that  the  soul  is  equal  in  importance  to  the  gods,  and  like- 
wise that  it  imparts  to  them  a  certain  constituent  and  receives 
one  from  them  in  return;  and  also  that  it  imposes  conditions 
upon  the  superior  beings  and  is  itself  limited  in  its  sphere 
by  them. 

But  there  are  others  who  affirm  what  is  most  mischievous, 
namely :  That  the  gods,  being  the  interior  cause  in  the  order 
of  the  elements,  coexist  in  the  beings  that  are  brought  into 
existence  by  them,  and  that  there  will  be  an  outbirth  that  will 
be  produced  since  time,  and  of  a  commingling  during  time, 
and  that  it  will  encompass  the  gods  in  itself.  But  in  such  event 
what  is  this  commingled  form  of  substance?  For  if  it  is  both, 
conjoined  together  (the  soul  and  the  divine  inbreathing),  it 
will  not  be  one  single  thing  from  out  of  two,  but  as  composed 
from  two  put  together  at  random.  But  if  it  is  an  entity,  other 
than  both,  then  we  must  admit  that  things  eternal  will  be  sub- 
ject to  change,  and  the  divine  essences  will  differ  in  nothing 
from  physical  ones  in  the  realm  of  generated  existence.  The 
supposition  that  an  eternal  being  may  be  brought  into  the 
world  through  nativity  is  absurd;  but  to  imagine  that  any- 
thing consisting  of  eternal  qualities  will  be  dissolved  is  more 
absurd. 

By  no  means,  therefore,  has  such  an  opinion  in  respect  to 
divination  any  reasonableness ;  but  now  we  must  consider  this 
notion  paradoxic,  whoever  may  propose  it,  whether  one  or 
two. 


IX 
DEMONS 


CHAPTER  IX 

DEMONS 

Thy  next  supposition  comes  up  now  for  consideration, 
namely:  "That  the  Soul,  through  such  activities,  generates 
from  itself  a  faculty  of  imagination  in  regard  to  the  future, 
or  else  that  the  emanations  from  the  realm  of  nature  bring 
demons  into  existence  through  their  inherent  forces,  especially 
when  the  emanations  are  derived  from  animals." 

These  statements  appear  to  me  to  exhibit  a  fearful  disre- 
gard of  the  principles  pertaining  to  divinity,  and  likewise 
those  of  the  theurgic  operation.  For  one  absurdity  appears 
at  the  outset,  namely :  that  the  demons  are  generated  and  per- 
ishable things.*  But  another  one  more  woful  than  this  is,  that 
by  this  hypothesis  those  beings  that  are  prior  are  produced 
from  those  that  are  posterior  to  themselves.  For  the  demons 
existed  already  in  some  manner  before  soul  and  the  faculties 
incident  to  the  bodily  structures.  Besides  these  considera- 
tions, how  is  it  possible  that  the  energies  of  the  divisible  soul, 
which  is  held  fast  in  a  body,  be  transformed  into  essence  and 
be  separate  by  themselves  outside  of  the  soul  ?  Or  how  may 
the  faculties  incident  to  the  bodies,  which  have  their  very  be- 
ing in  the  bodies,  become  separate  from  them?  Who  is  it  that 
is  freeing  them  from  the  corporeal  framework  and  collecting 
the  dissolved  substance  into  one  group?  For  a  being  of  such 
a  character  will  be  a  demon  preexisting  before  the  placing  of 
the  component  elements  together.  The  statement,  however, 
has  also  the  usual  perplexity.    For  how  may  divining  be  pro- 


*Plutarch  in  his  treatise  on  "Oracles"  speaks  of  Hesiod  limiting  the 
soul  of  a  demon  and  the  life  of  a  demigod,  and  also  represents  Xenokrates 
as  saying  that  the  nature  of  demons  is  endued  with  the  passions  and 
perturbations  of  the  mortal  nature  and  the  force  and  power  of  the  divine. 

151 


lot  IMAGINATION 

duced  from  things  that  have  no  oracular  quality,  and  how  may 
soul  be  generated  from  bodies  that  are  without  a  soul?  Or,  to 
say  the  whole  at  once,  how  may  the  things  which  are  more 
complete  be  produced  from  those  which  are  less  complete? 
The  mode  of  producing  appears  to  me  likewise  to  be  impos- 
sible. For  to  produce  essence  through  the  activities  of  the 
soul  and  through  the  powers  in  the  bodies  is  not  possible ;  for 
from  the  things  which  do  not  have  it,  essence  cannot  be 
developed. 

Whence  comes  the  imagination  of  that  which  is  about  to 
take  place ?  From  what  does  it  receive  the  faculty  of  divining? 
For  of  the  things  which  have  been  sown  anywhere  through 
generation  we  absolutely  never  see  anything  possessing  more 
than  what  is  imparted  to  it  from  the  first  parentage.  But  it 
seems  that  the  imagination  may  receive  a  certain  superior 
addition  from  what  has  no  being;  unless  it  may  be  said  that 
the  demons  get  a  foothold  upon  the  matter  from  the  [sacri- 
ficed] animals,  and  that,  being  brought  under  their  influence, 
they  are  moved  in  respect  to  it  by  a  common  sympathy.  Ac- 
cording to  this  opinion,  therefore,  the  demons  are  not  gener- 
ated from  the  forces  inherent  in  bodies,  but  being  at  the  lead 
of  them,  and  existing  before  them,  they  are  moved  in  like 
manner  with  them.  Granted  that  they  are  thus  exceedingly 
sympathetic,  yet  I  do  not  see  in  what  manner  there  will  be 
anything  true  in  regard  to  what  is  to  come.  For  the  fore- 
knowing and  forecasting  of  the  future  do  not  come  within 
the  range  of  a  sympathetic  power,  nor  a  nature  belonging  to 
the  realm  of  matter,  and  held  fast  in  a  specific  place  and  body; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  the  faculty  must  be  free  in  respect  to 
everything. 

Let  the  supposition  which  thou  hast  made  receive  these 
corrections. 

CONCERNING  ORACULAR  DREAMS. 

Immediately  after  this,  observations  are  brought  forward 
as  of  one  that  was  wavering  in  regard  to  the  nature  of  divin- 
ation ;  yet  as  they  are  advanced  there  is  an  endeavor  apparent 
to  overturn  the  art  entirely.    We  will,  therefore,  direct  the 


A  CONDITION  OF  THE  SOUL  153 

discussion  to  both  these  conditions  of  the  case.  We  will  begin 
by  first  answering  the  former  of  them:  "That  during  sleep, 
when  we  are  not  engaged  with  anything,  we  sometimes  chance 
to  a  premonition  of  the  future."  It  is  not  suggested  that  the 
source  of  the  divination  is  from  out  of  ourselves  and  that  the 
one  which  accompanies  it  is  from  without.  The  two  are  closely 
allied  together  and  are  intimately  interblended  with  each 
other.  Hence,  their  operations  in  respect  to  these  matters 
are  carried  out  in  the  manner  defined,  and  follow  the  causes 
which  precede  them,  being  allied  to  them  in  close  relations. 
When,  however,  the  cause  is  free  from  such  attachments,  and 
preexists  by  itself,  the  end  is  not  marked  out  in  relation  to  us, 
but  everything  depends  on  influences  outside.  Now,  therefore, 
it  is  likely  to  happen  in  such  cases  that  the  truth  in  the  dreams 
does  not  come  out  in  concert  without  ritual  operations,  and  it 
often  shines  forth  from  itself.  This  shows  that  divination, 
being  from  the  gods  without,  and  endued  with  authority  which 
is  all  its  own,  will,  when  it  pleases,  graciously  reveal  the 
future.  Let  these  explanations  be  an  answer  of  such  a 
character. 

A  PECULIAK  CONDITION  OF  SOUL  NOT  A  SOURCE  OF  DIVINATION. 

Afterward,  in  the  endeavor  to  explain  the  nature  of  divin- 
ation, thou  doest  away  with  it  altogether.  For  if,  as  thou 
affirmest,  "a  condition  of  the  soul"  constitutes  the  source  of 
divination,  what  person  of  sense  will  accord  to  a  thing  so 
palpably  unstable  and  capricious  foreknowledge  that  is  nor- 
mal and  stable?  Or,  how  can  the  soul  that  is  discreet  and 
constant  as  to  the  better  faculties — those  of  the  mind  and 
understanding — be  ignorant  of  what  is  to  be,  when  the  indi- 
vidual that  is  receptive  as  to  disorderly  and  turbulent  impres- 
sions throws  the  future  wide  open?  For  what  in  the  world 
is  peculiar  in  the  passive  condition  to  qualify  it  for  the  behold- 
ing of  the  things  that  possess  real  being?  Why  is  not  this 
condition  a  hindrance  rather  than  an  aid  to  the  more  genu- 
ine perception?  Further,  also,  if  the  things  in  the  world  were 
placed  together  by  means  of  passive  conditions,  the  similitude 
of  the  passive  conditions  would  be  in  close  proximity  to  them. 


154  DISEASE  NOT  A  FACTOR 

But  if  they  are  established  through  principles  and  through 
ideas  there  will  be  a  different  nature  of  foreknowledge,  which 
will  be  quit  of  everything  like  passive  condition. 

Then,  again,  the  passive  condition  is  conscious  only  of 
what  is  going  on  and  what  is  now  in  existence,  but  foreknowl- 
edge extends  also  to  those  things  which  as  yet  do  not  have 
being.  Hence,  foreknowledge  is  far  different  from  a  passive 
or  susceptible  condition. 

Let  us,  however,  consider  thy  arguments  for  such  an  opin- 
ion as  thou  hast  put  forward.  Thy  statement  that  ' '  the  senses 
are  held  in  check"  tends  to  the  contrary  of  what  thou  hast 
before  declared,  for  it  is  an  evidence  that  no  human  phantasm 
is  active  at  the  particular  time.  But  "the  fumes  which  are 
introduced"  are  in  close  relationship  to  the  god,  but  not  to 
the  soul  of  the  Beholder.  The  "invocations"  do  not  induce 
an  inbreathing  into  the  reasoning  faculty  or  passive  conditions 
of  body  in  the  worshipper,  for  they  are  perfectly  unknowable 
and  arcane ;  but  they  are  uttered  intelligibly  to  the  god  alone 
whom  they  are  invoking.  But  what  thou  remarkest,  "that 
by  no  means  everybody,  but  only  the  more  artless  and  young 
are  suitable"  for  the  procedures,  demonstrates  that  such  as 
these  are  more  in  condition  as  a  receptacle  for  a  spirit  that 
enters  from  without  and  holds  the  subject  entranced. 

From  these  things,  however,  thou  dost  not  conjecture  right- 
ly that  the  enthusiastic  rapture  is  a  passive  condition;  for 
the  evidence  follows  likewise  from  these  signs  and  tokens  that 
it  flows  in  from  without,  as  an  inbreathing.  Let  these  things, 
therefore,  so  be  with  us. 

DISEASE  NOT  A  FACTOR  IN"  DIVINATION. 

After  these  conjectures  there  follows  another,  a  descent 
from  the  entheast  aberration  to  ecstasy  or  alienation  of  mind 
on  toward  a  worse  condition.  It  is  declared,  most  irrationally, 
that  the  origin  of  the  divining  art  is  "the  mania  that  occurs 
in  diseases."  For  it  sets  forth  enthusiasm  or  divine  inspira- 
tion as  due  to  melancholia  or  the  redundancy  of  black  bile, 
the  perverted  conditions  of  drunkenness,  and  the  fury  inci- 
dent to  rabid  dogs.    It  is  necessary  from  the  beginning,  there- 


THE  EVILS  OF  MANIA  155 

fore,  to  make  the  distinction  of  two  species  of  ecstasy  or  en- 
trancement,  of  which  one  causes  degeneration  to  an  inferior 
condition,  and  fills  with  imbecility  and  insanity ;  but  the  other 
imparts  benefits  that  are  more  precious  than  intelligence.  The 
former  species  wanders  to  a  disorderly,  discordant  and  world- 
ly activity;  but  the  latter  gives  itself  to  the  Supreme  Cause 
which  directs  the  orderly  arrangement  of  things  in  the  world. 
The  former,  being  destitute  of  real  knowledge,  is  led  aside 
from  good  sense ;  but  the  latter  is  united  with  those  superior 
sources  of  wisdom  that  transcend  all  the  sagacity  in  us.  The 
former  is  constantly  changing,  but  the  latter  is  unchangeable. 
The  former  is  contrary  to  nature,  but  the  latter  is  superior 
to  nature.  The  former  brings  down  the  soul  into  lower  condi- 
tions, but  the  latter  leads  it  upward.  The  former  places  the 
subject  entirely  outside  of  the  divine  apportionment,  but  the 
latter  joins,  unites  him  to  it. 

Why,  then,  does  thy  discourse  lead  off  so  much  from  the 
proposed  hypothesis  as  to  be  turned  from  the  things  superior 
and  beneficial  to  the  worst  evils  of  mania  ?  For  in  what  does 
the  enthusiastic  inspiration  resemble  melancholy  or  drunk- 
enness or  any  other  form  of  alienation  originating  from  mor- 
bid conditions  of  the  body?  What  oracle  can  ever  be  pro- 
duced from  distempers  of  the  body?  Is  not  a  product  of  such 
a  kind  wholly  a  destruction,  but  divine  possession  a  perfect- 
ing and  deliverance  of  the  soul  1  Does  not  the  worthless  trance 
happen  at  the  same  time  with  debility,  but  the  superior  enthu- 
siastic rapture  with  complete  reign?  In  short,  to  speak  plainly, 
the  latter,  being  in  a  tranquil  condition  as  relates  to  its  own 
life  and  intelligence,  gives  itself  to  be  used  by  another;  but 
the  former,  operating  with  its  peculiar  species,  renders  them 
utterly  wicked  and  turbulent. 

This  difference  is  therefore  the  most  palpable  of  all,  as  all 
operations  by  divine  beings  differ  from  others.  For  as  the 
superior  orders  are  completely  apart  from  all  the  others,  their 
operations  are  accordingly  not  like  those  of  any  other  beings. 
When,  therefore,  thou  speakest  of  the  aberration  of  a  divine 
being,  let  thy  conception  of  it  be  free  from  all  human  "aber- 
rations."   And  if  thou  imputest  to  them  "abstinence"  simi- 


156  APPARITIONS  OF  TECHNICAL  MAGIC 

lar  to  that  of  the  priests,  do  not  look  upon  human  abstinence 
any  more  as  being  similar  to  it.  But  of  all  things,  do  not 
compare  "diseases  of  the  body,  such  as  suffusions,  and  fancies 
set  in  motion  by  morbid  conditions, ' '  with  the  divine  visions. 
For  what  have  they  in  common  with  each  other  ?  Neither  art 
thou  at  liberty  to  contrast  "equivocal  states  of  mind,  such  as 
may  occur  during  abstinence  and  ecstasy,"  with  the  sacred 
visions  of  the  gods,  which  are  defined  by  a  single  energy.  But 
on  the  other  hand,  thou  mayest  not  associate  in  mind  the  spec- 
tacles of  the  gods  that  are  superlatively  efficacious  with  "the 
apparitions  got  up  by  technical  magic."*  For  the  latter  have 
neither  the  energy  nor  the  essence  nor  the  genuineness  of  the 
objects  that  are  beheld,  but  only  project  bare  phantasms  that 
seem  real. 

All  such  questions,  however,  which  lead  away  from  the 
subject  and  carry  the  attention  from  contraries  to  contraries, 
we  do  not  consider  as  touching  the  hypothesis  before  us. 
Hence,  having  set  them  forth  as  foreign  to  the  subject,  we  do 
not  suppose  it  to  be  necessary  to  waste  more  time  upon  them, 
as  they  have  been  set  in  a  disputatious  way  to  lead  us  to 
wander  from  our  course,  but  not  with  any  curiosity  of  a  philo- 
sophic character. 

CONCERNING  SPURIOUS  AND  GENUINE  DIVINATION. 

One  will  wonder,  therefore,  at  the  many  and  different 
suggestions  of  new  points  of  argument  which  are  evidently 
brought  forward  for  the  purpose  of  disputing.  He  will  be 
astonished,  with  good  reason,  at  the  oppositeness  of  the  opin- 
ions that  are  put  forth  to  explain  divining.  It  is  affirmed  that 
the  whole  art  is  only  a  matter  of  appearances  produced  by  jug- 
glers, there  being  nothing  substantial,  and  likewise  that  it  is 
exercised  by  persons  who  are  impelled  by  emotion  or  disease, 
and  are  in  a  condition  to  dare  anything  of  a  delusive  nature, 
and  that  it  is  possible  for  them  to  come  upon  the  truth  by 
chance.  For  what  principle  of  truth,  or  what  starting-pom  f 
of  something  that  may  be  understood,  less  or  greater,  will 


'The  goetic  art  or  "black  magic." 


THE  TRUTH  157 

there  exist  in  these  individuals?  We  should  not  receive  that 
as  the  truth,  however,  which  comes  in  such  manner  by  chances ; 
as  that  also  happens  to  be  recorded  of  those  who  are  borne 
along  to  no  purpose.  That,  however,  is  not  to  be  acknowl- 
edged as  the  truth  in  which  the  things  are  done  in  concert  with 
those  that  are  performing  them ;  for  these  things  coexist  with 
the  physical  senses  and  with  the  perceptive  faculties  of  ani- 
mals. Hence,  that  which  is  done  in  this  way  has  nothing  that 
is  its  own,  or  divine,  or  superior  to  what  is  common  in  nature. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  truth  which  is  to  be  regarded  stands 
permanently  in  the  same  manner  as  respects  operation.  It 
has  perfect  knowledge  present  with  it  of  existing  things,  and 
is  itself  of  the  same  nature  with  the  essence  of  things.  It 
employs  the  stable  reasoning  faculty,  and  sees  everything  as 
existing  in  its  perfectness,  its  fitness  for  use,  and  its  dimen- 
sions. This  truth,  therefore,  is  in  close  connection  with  the 
art  of  divination.  It  ought  accordingly  to  be  much  more  than 
natural  presentiment,  such  as  the  instinctive  perceiving  of 
earthquakes  and  great  storms  of  rain,  which  is  possessed  by 
certain  animals.  From  this  a  feeling  in  common,  certain  ani- 
mals being  acted  upon  together,  or  perceiving  more  or  less 
accurately,  through  an  acuteness  of  sense,  things  which  are 
taking  place  in  the  atmosphere  above  but  have  not  yet  been 
brought  to  pass  upon  the  earth.* 

If,  then,  these  things  which  we  are  saying  are  true,  although 
we  may  have  received  from  nature  a  power  to  ascertain  things, 
or  though  we  feel  what  is  going  to  take  place,  that  we  shall 
accept  this  kind  of  impression  as  oracular  foreknowledge,  yet 
it  is  similar  to  divining,  except  that  in  divination  there  is 


*Ancient  literature  has  preserved  several  incidents  of  this  character. 
The  tenth  chapter  of  the  book  of  "Daniel"  throws  considerable  light 
upon  the  subject;  and  in  the  fifth  chapter  of  the  second  book  of  the 
"  Maccabees,"  an  apparition  of  an  army  manceuvering  in  the  sky  is  de- 
scribed. The  newspapers  abound  with  accounts  of  dreams  in  which 
events  were  represented  as  they  afterward  actually  occurred.  This  would 
seem  to  indicate  that  there  is  a  world  of  reality  about  us,  other  than 
the  spectacular  region  that  we  contemplate,  and  that  scenes  taking  place 
here  are  copies  of  what  has  been  enacted  there  already. 


158  STEADFAST  PERCEPTION 

nothing  wanting  in  certainty  and  truth,  while  the  other  is  a 
matter  of  chance  for  the  most  part,  but  not  always ;  perceiving 
correctly  in  regard  to  certain  things  but  not  in  relation  to  all. 
Hence,  if  there  is  any  instruction  in  the  arts,  as,  for  example, 
in  pilotage  or  in  medicine,  which  gives  power  to  forecast  the 
future,  it  does  not  pertain  in  any  respect  to  the  divine  fore- 
knowledge. For  it  reckons  up  what  is  to  happen  by  probabili- 
ties and  certain  signs,  and  these  not  always  credible ;  and  they 
do  not  have  the  thing  that  is  thus  signified  in  a  proper  con- 
nection with  that  of  which  the  signs  are  indicators.  But  with 
the  divine  foresight  of  things  to  be  there  are,  before  all,  stead- 
fast perception,  the  unchanging  assurance  completely  at  one 
with  the  Causes,  an  indissoluble  holding  of  everything  to 
everything,  and  a  knowledge  always  abiding  of  all  things  as 
being  now  present,  and  their  province  defined. 

DIVINATION  NEITIIEE  FROM  NATURE,  ART  NOR  FELLOW  FEELING. 

It  is  not  proper  to  make  this  statement:  "That  the  realm 
of  nature,  art,  and  the  feeling  in  common  of  things  through- 
out the  universe  as  of  the  parts  of  one  animal,  contain  fore- 
shadowings  of  certain  things  with  reference  to  others";  nor 
"that  the  bodies  are  so  constituted  as  to  be  forewarnings  from 
some  to  others."  For  these  things,  which  are  very  clearly 
beheld,  remove  the  traces  of  the  divine  oracular  power  in  a 
greater  or  less  degree.  But  it  is  not  possible  that  any  one 
should  be  bereft  of  it  entirely.  On  the  contrary,  as  in  all 
things,  the  image  of  the  good  carries  the  god  in  it;  so,  also, 
a  certain  likeness  of  the  divine  oracular  power,  obscure  or 
more  active,  appears  to  be  in  them.  But  none  of  these  is  such 
as  the  divine  form  of  divination,  nor  may  the  one  divine,  un- 
mingled  form  of  it  be  characterized  from  the  many  phantasms 
which  go  down  from  it  into  the  realm  of  generated  existence. 
Nor  is  it  proper,  if  there  are  any  other  false  or  delusive  ap- 
pearances, which  are  farther  removed  from  genuineness,  to 
bring  these  forward  in  the  forming  of  a  judgment  of  the  mat- 
ter. On  the  contrary,  we  must  think  of  it  as  one  single  utter- 
ance, one  arrangement,  and  according  to  one  divine  ideal  and 


DIVINATION"  A  DIVINE  WOKK  159 

one  intellectible  and  unchangeable  tnitli;  and  in  like  manner 
vre  must  regard  the  change  which  may  be  taking  place  at  dif- 
ferent times,  and  in  different  ways,  as  denoting  instability  and 
discordance,  and  disrespect  for  the  gods. 

If,  then,  divination  is  truly  a  divine  work  of  such  a  char- 
acter, who  would  not  be  ashamed  to  attribute  it  to  the  agency 
of  nature,  that  accomplishes  its  objects  without  thought,  as 
though  it  had  elaborated  in  us  a  power  of  divining,  and  had 
implanted  it  in  a  greater  degree  in  some  and  in  a  less  degree 
in  others?  For  in  those  things  in  which  men  receive  from 
nature  the  means  for  accomplishing  their  individual  under- 
takings, even  in  these,  certain  aptitudes  of  nature  take  the 
lead.  In  those,  however,  in  which  there  is  no  human  agency 
in  the  inception,  neither  is  the  final  result  our  own.  And  when 
a  certain  good,  older  and  superior  to  our  own  nature,  has  been 
so  arranged  beforehand,  it  is  not  possible  that  any  natural 
genius  or  cleverness  in  these  things  should  have  been  engaged 
secretly  in  the  matter.  For  with  these  things  which  are  fully 
perfected  there  are  also  those  which  are  imperfectly  devel- 
oped ;  but  both  are  conditions  of  human  beings.  But  of  these 
conditions  which  we  do  not  experience  as  human  beings  there 
will  not,  ever,  be  a  preparation  by  nature.  Hence,  there  is 
no  seed  of  the  divine  oracular  power  in  us  from  nature.  If, 
on  the  contrary,  however,  any  one  should  make  the  invoca- 
tion by  a  certain  more  common  and  human  mode  of  divining, 
let  there  be  a  natural  preparation.  But  in  regard  to  that  which 
may  be  truly  named  the  divine  oracular  art,  which  belongs 
to  the  gods,  it  is  not  right  to  think  that  this  is  insown  from 
the  realm  of  nature.  For,  indeed,  both  the  different  modes, 
and  the  indefinite  one,  follow  more  or  less  with  this  idea.  For 
this  reason  this  indefinite  mode  of  forecasting  stands  separate 
from  the  divine  oracular  art  which  remains  in  fixed  bounda- 
ries. Wherefore,  if  any  one  says  that  the  art  o'f  divination 
has  its  being  from  out  of  ourselves,  it  is  our  duty  to  fight 
strenuously  against  this  assertion. 

But  thou  likewise  makest  this  statement :  ' '  Examples  are 
manifest  by  the  things  done,  namely:  That  they  who  make 
the  invocations  carry  stones  and  herbs,  tie  sacred  knots  and 


160  MATEKIALIZING 

unloose  them,  open  places  that  are  locked,  and  change  the 
purposes  of  individuals  by  whom  they  are  entertained,  so  that, 
from  being  paltry,  they  are  made  worthy."  All  these  things 
signify  that  the  inspiration  comes  from  without.  It  is  neces- 
sary, however,  not  only  to  accept  this  beforehand,  but  also  to 
define  thoroughly  what  a  specific  inspiration  is,  which  comes 
from  duty,  and  produces  the  god-given  art  of  divination.  Oth- 
erwise, we  shall  not  be  fit  beforehand,  to  give  judgment  on 
this  subject,  unless  by  applying  its  own  peculiar  sign  to  it 
and  fit  its  own  token  to  it  as  a  seal. 

CONCERNING  SPECTRAL  FIGURES  AND  MATERIALIZATION. 

Thou  also  puttest  forth  this  declaration:  "Those  who 
are  able  to  reproduce  the  mystic  figures  (idola)  are  not  to  be 
held  in  low  esteem."  I  shall  wonder  if  any  one  of  the  theurgic 
priests  who  behold  the  genuine  ideal  forms  of  the  gods  should 
consent  to  allow  them  at  all.  For  why  should  anybody  con- 
sent to  take  idola  or  spectral  figures  in  exchange  for  those 
that  have  real  being,  and  be  carried  from  the  very  first  to  the 
last  and  lowest?  Do  we  not  know  that  as  all  things  which 
are  brought  into  view  by  such  a  mode  of  shadowing  are  but 
imperfectly  discernible,  they  are  really  phantoms  of  what  is 
genuine,  and  that  they  appear  good  to  the  seeming  but  never 
are  really  so? 

Other  things  are  in  like  manner  brought  in,  being  carried 
along  in  the  course  of  events,  but  nothing  is  rendered  that  is 
genuine  or  complete  or  distinct.  But  the  mode  of  producing 
them  is  plain,  for  not  God,  but  man,  is  the  maker  of  them. 
Nor  are  they  produced  from  single  and  intellectual  essences, 
but  from  matter  taken  for  the  purpose.* 

What  that  is  good  can  come  into  existence,  that  germin- 
ates from  matter  and  from  the  powers  material  and  corpo- 


*This  process  has  again  appeared  in  what  is  known  as  "materializ- 
ing." It  is  explained  as  the  producing  of  the  figure  of  an  individual 
by  surrounding  it  with  material  elements  procured  from  the  body  of 
another  person  who  is,  during  the  time,  in  a  dormant  and  inanimate 
condition. 


THOUGHTS  PUT  INTO  ACTIVITY  161 

real  which  exist  with  matter  and  in  bodies?*  Is  not  the  tiling 
which  owes  existence  to  human  art  more  impotent  and  of  less 
importance  than  the  persons  themselves  who  gave  it  exist- 
ence? By  what  art  or  skill  is  this  spectral  figure  put  into 
form?  For  it  is  said  it  is  molded  as  by  the  skill  of  Demiurgus 
himself.  But  that  skill  is  employed  in  the  producing  of  genu- 
ine essences,  never  in  the  forming  of  mere  spectral  figures. 
Hence,  the  art  of  producing  idola  is  a  long  way  distant  from 
Demiurgic  creating.  On  the  contrary,  it  does  not  preserve 
the  analogy  with  Divine  creating  at  all.  For  God  creates  all 
things,  but  not  through  the  physical  motions  of  things  in  the 
sky  or  by  those  of  particled  matter  or  by  the  forces  thus  di- 
vided. But  instead,  it  is  by  thoughts  put  into  activity,  by  pur- 
poses and  non-material  ideals,  through  the  sempiternal  and 
supermundane  soul,  that  he  constructs  the  worlds. 

But  the  creator  of  the  spectral  figures,  it  is  said,  makes 
them  as  of  the  revolving  stars.  The  thing  does  not  have  its 
existence  in  the  way  as  it  is  imagined.  For  as  there  are  un- 
limited powers  possessed  by  the  gods  in  the  sky,  the  last  and 
lowest  of  all  these  is  that  of  the  realm  of  nature.  But  again, 
a  part  of  this  lowest  power  takes  the  lead  by  itself  prior  to 
generated  existence,  being  inherent  in  the  principles  which 
contain  the  germs  of  things,  and  established  in  the  immovable 
essences.  The  other  part,  however,  existing  in  the  perceptible 
and  visible  motions,  and  likewise  in  the  auras  and  qualities 
from  out  of  the  sky,  exercises  dominion  over  the  whole  visible 


*Pythagoras  and  the  philosophers  who  adopted  his  views  describe 
matter  as  the  source  of  evil.  This  is  an  Oriental  doctrine,  and  was  doubt- 
less carried  to  the  West  by  teachers  sent  out  for  the  purpose.  The  same 
notions  have  more  or  less  pervaded  opinion  ever  since,  and  given  rise 
to  the  impression  that  so  many  seem  to  entertain  that  everything  physical 
is  intrinsically  vile  and  therefore  to  be  repressed  so  far  as  possible.  But 
the  sentiment  given  by  Plato  in  "Theaetetos"  would  seem  a  more  rational 
conception.  "It  is  not  possible  that  evil  shall  be  destroyed,"  says 
Sokrates,  "for  it  is  necessary  that  there  should  always  be  something 
contrary  to  good.  Nor  can  it  be  seated  among  the  gods,  but  of  necessity 
moves  round  this  mortal  nature  and  this  region.  Wherefore  we  ought 
to  endeavor  to  fly  hence  as  quickly  as  possible.  But  this  flying  consists 
in  resembling  God  as  much  as  possible,  and  this  resembling  is  the  becom- 
ing just  and  holy  with  wisdom." 


162  DIVERSITY  OF  ENERGIES 

order  of  things,  in  all  which  this  last  in  the  series  rules  as  a 
deputed  governor  over  the  universal  realm  of  visible  existence 
in  the  places  around  the  earth.  But  in  the  realm  of  visible 
existence,  and  in  the  qualities  of  the  auras  perceptible  to  the 
sense  which  are  sent  down  from  the  sky,  many  different  arts 
are  brought  into  use,  such  as  medicine*  and  gymnastics,  and 
all  others  that  harmonize  with  nature  in  their  results.  And 
what  is  more,  the  creating  of  spectral  figures  attracts  from 
the  auras  a  very  indistinct  portion  of  generative  energy. 

Hence,  as  the  truth  is  so,  it  is  right  to  make  it  known: 
That  the  individual  creating  the  spectral  figures  employs  in 
his  procedures  neither  the  revolutions  of  the  heavenly  bodies 
nor  the  powers  which  exist  in  them  by  nature;  and,  in  short, 
he  is  not  able  to  come  in  contact  with  them.  But  as  he  fol- 
lows the  rules  of  an  art,  and  does  not  proceed  theurgically, 
he  deals  with  the  last  and  most  inferior  emanations,  mani- 
festly, from  their  nature,  about  the  extreme  part  of  the  uni- 
verse. But  these  emanations  being  partially  commingled  with 
matter,  I  think  that  they  are  capable  of  changing  to  it,  and 
likewise  of  taking  new  form  and  being  modeled  differently  at 
different  times.  They  likewise  admit  change  of  powers  in 
these  particulars  from  some  to  others.  But  such  a  diversity 
of  energies,  and  the  combination  of  so  many  powers  pertain- 
ing to  the  realm  of  matter,  are  separated  not  only  from  every- 
thing of  divine  creation,  but  also  from  everything  of  natural 
production.  For  nature  performs  its  own  works  after  one 
plan,  and  at  once,  by  simple  and  uncomplicated  operations. 
The  fact  remains,  accordingly,  that  such  a  manner  of  pro- 
ducing spectral  figures  by  a  commingling  about  the  lowest  and 
a  manifest  celestial  inflow,  the  things  being  yielded  by  the 
celestial  nature,  is  by  art. 


*Both  Galen  and  Hippokrates  insisted  that  astral  knowledge  is  essen- 
tial for  physicians;  and  Galen  derided  those  physicians  who  denied  the 
necessity  for  such  knowledge.  He  went  so  far  as  to  declare  medical  men 
who  were  ignorant  of  astral  learning,  homicides.  All  the  medical  schools 
of  Christendom  and  the  "Moslem"  world  formerly  taught  astrology,  and 
Nicholas  Culpepper,  in  his  Herbal,  is  careful  to  assign  to  each  medicinal 
plant  its  astral  relations. 


JUGGLING  AND  MANIFESTATION'S  163 

SPECTRAL  FIGURES  UNSTABLE. 

Why,  then,  it  may  be  asked,  does  the  projector  of  spectral 
figures,  the  man  who  creates  these  things,  why  does  he  disre- 
gard himself,  when  he  is  superior,  and  descended  from  supe- 
rior beings?  He  appears,  instead,  to  be  trusting  in  specters 
destitute  of  soul,*  only  animated  with  the  outward  appearance 
of  life,  holding  together  externally  a  framework  of  diversified 
complexion  and  absolutely  ephemeral  in  duration.  Does  any- 
thing genuine  and  true  exist  in  them  ?  On  the  contrary,  noth- 
ing of  the  things  fashioned  by  the  ingenuity  of  man  is  unal- 
loyed and  pure.  But  do  simplicity  and  uniformity  of  operation 
of  the  entire  structure  predominate  in  them  ?  They  are  want- 
ing in  all.  In  regard  to  their  visible  composition  they  are 
brought  together  from  out  of  manifold  and  incompatible  sub- 
stances. But  is  there  a  pure  and  complete  power  manifest  in 
them?  By  no  means.  When  any  such  multitude  of  auras, 
accumulated  from  many  sources,  has  been  mingled  together,  it 
is  shown  to  be  feeble  and  fleeting.  Yet,  except  these  things 
are  as  described,  is  there  the  stability  in  the  apparitions  which 
they  affirm?  There  ought  to  be  much;  but  they  vanish  more 
quickly  than  the  idola  that  are  seen  in  mirrors.  For  when 
the  incense  is  placed  upon  the  altar  the  figure  is  immediately 
formed  from  the  vapor  as  it  is  carried  upward,  but  when  the 
vapor  becomes  mingled  and  dispersed  into  the  whole  atmos- 
phere the  idolon  itself  is  immediately  dissolved,  and  not  a  trace 
of  it  remains.  Why,  then,  should  this  juggling  be  desired  by 
the  man  that  loves  manifestations  that  are  true?  I  regard  it 
as  worthy  of  no  consideration.  If  they  who  make  these  spec- 
tral figures  know  that  these  things  about  which  they  are  en- 
gaged are  structures  formed  of  passive  material  the  evil  would 
be  a  simple  matter.  Besides  this,  they  become  in  this  similar 
to  the  apparitions  in  which  they  place  faith.  But  if  they  hold 
to  these  spectral  figures  as  to  gods,  the  absurdity  will  not  be 
utterable  in  speech  or  endurable  in  act.    For  into  such  a  soul 


*Origen  treated  of  these  idola  or  spectral  figures  as  things  in  motion, 
but  not  beings  really  alive;  apparitions  approaching  the  nature  of 
phantoms. 


164  PHANTASMS  AND  SHADOWS 

the  divine  ray  never  shines ;  for  it  is  not  in  the  nature  of  things 
for  it  to  be  bestowed  upon  objects  that  are  wholly  repugnant, 
and  those  that  are  held  fast  by  dark  phantasms  have  no  place 
for  its  reception.  Suchlike  wonder-making  with  phantasms 
will,  therefore,  be  in  the  same  category  with  shadows  that  are 
very  far  from  the  truth. 

NO  DIVINE  QUALITY  IN  SPECTRAL  FIGURES. 

But  then  thou  affirmest  further :  ' '  They  watch  the  course 
of  the  heavenly  bodies,  and  tell  from  the  position  and  relation 
of  one  with  another  whether  the  oracular  announcements  of 
the  ruling  planet  will  be  true  or  false,  or  whether  the  rites 
which  have  been  performed  will  be  to  no  purpose,  or  will  be 
expressive  or  arcane." 

To  the  contrary,  not  on  account  of  these  things  will  these 
phantasms  possess  the  divine  quality.  For  the  last  and  most 
inferior  of  the  things  in  the  realm  of  generated  existence  are 
moved  by  the  courses  of  the  heavenly  bodies  and  are  affected 
by  the  auras  which  go  forth  from  them.  No,  indeed;  but  if 
any  one  shall  examine  these  things  carefully  they  will  show 
the  contrary.  For  how  may  it  be  that  these  things  which  are 
so  easy  to  change  in  every  respect,  and  are  turned  round  in 
various  directions  by  demons  from  without,  so  as  to  be  ren- 
dered of  no  importance,  whether  as  oracular  or  in  regard  to 
promises  or  in  relation  to  Perfective  Rites  or  in  other  mat- 
ters, as  the  case  may  be,  shall  contain  in  themselves  any  allot- 
ment of  divine  power,  however  small?  What,  then,  are  the 
powers  which  are  inherent  in  various  kinds  of  matter,  the  ele- 
mentary constituents,  of  which  demons  are  formed?  Verily, 
and  indeed,  they  are  not.  For  nothing  of  divisible  sensitive 
bodies  originates  demons;  but  these,  instead,  are  themselves 
generated  and  watched  over  by  demons.  Neither  is  anybody 
able  to  fashion  the  shapes  of  demons  as  from  a  machine,  but 
rather,  on  the  contrary,  he  is  himself  fashioned  and  con- 
structed by  the  demons  according  as  he  partakes  of  a  body 
possessing  sensibility. 

But  neither  is  there  any  incidental  number  of  demons  gen- 
erated from  the  elements  of  things  of  sense,  but,  far  otherwise, 


IDOLA  165 

the  number  is  itself  simple  in  nature  and  is  uniformly  oper- 
ative around  compound  natures.  Hence,  it  will  not  possess 
things  of  sense  older  than  itself,  or  more  lasting;  but  as  it 
excels  sensible  things  in  age  and  power,  it  imparts  to  them 
the  constancy  which  they  are  able  to  receive.  Perhaps,  how- 
ever, thou  termest  the  idola  demons,  applying  such  a  designa- 
tion wrongly :  for  the  nature  of  demons  is  one  thing  and  that 
of  the  idola  another.  The  rank  of  each  is  likewise  very  widely 
different.  And  also,  indeed,  the  Chorus-leader  of  idola  is  dif- 
ferent from  the  great  prince  of  the  demons.*  For  this  thou 
givest  assent  when  saying  that  "no  god  or  demon  is  drawn 
down  by  them."  Of  what  consideration  would  a  sacred  ob- 
servance or  a  foreknowledge  of  the  future  be  worthy  which  is 
entirely  without  participation,  God  or  any  other  superior 
power?  Hence,  it  is  necessary  to  know  what  is  the  nature  of 
this  wonder-making  art,  but  by  no  means  to  have  faith  in  it. 

FALSE  AND  TRUE  DIVINATION. 

Again,  therefore,  thy  explanation  of  religious  perform- 
ances is  still  worse.  It  describes  "a  race  of  a  tricky  nature 
assuming  all  shapes,  artful,  and  turning  many  ways,. that  per- 
sonates gods  and  demons,  and  souls  of  the  dead,  like  actors 
on  the  stage." 

In  reply  to  these  imputations  I  will  relate  to  thee  what  I 
once  heard  from  the  prophets  of  the  Chaldasans. 

The  gods  of  truth,  whoever  they  may  be,  are  alone  the  be- 
stowers  of  all  things  good.  They  consort  with  only  good  men ; 
they  are  in  intimate  union  with  those  who  have  been  purified 
by  the  sacred  discipline,  and  extirpate  from  them  every  bad 
quality  and  disorderly  passion.  When  they  shine.upon  these, 
then  what  is  evil  and  demonian  gives  way,  and  disappears  from 
the  presence  of  the  superior  beings  as  darkness  vanishes  be- 
fore the  light.  Nor  does  the  light  by  any  chance  cause  any 
annoyance  to  the  theurgic  priests,  and  they  receive  from  it 

*It  may  perhaps  be  well  to  remark  that  the  prince  of  demons  here 
named  is  probably  not  the  same  personification  as  Beel  Zebul  of  the 
Gospels.  That  personage  is  styled  in  the  Greek  Testament,  Baal  Zeboul, 
the  lord  of  the  house;  and  in  astrology  it  will  be  borne  in  mind  that 
every  one  of  the  planetary  houses  had  its  own  chief. 


166  THE  SHINING  OF  THE  LIGHT 

every  excellent  quality  of  mind,  are  made  perfect  as  worthy 
and  decorous,  are  set  free  from  disorderly  passions,  and  puri- 
fied from  all  irregular  impulse,  and  likewise  from  godless  and 
profane  habitudes. 

But  those  who  are  themselves  impious  wrongdoers,  and 
who  assail  divine  matters  in  lawless  and  disorderly  ways,  are 
not  able,  because  of  defective  individual  energy  and  lack  of 
inherent  power,  to  obtain  intimate  association  with  the  gods. 
If,  by  reason  of  any  contaminations,  they  are  debarred  from 
being  with  immaculate  spirits,  they  become  allied  with  wicked 
spirits,  and  are  filled  by  them  with  the  most  pernicious  in- 
spiration. They  become  evil  and  profane,  full  of  unbridled 
desires  after  pleasure,  replete  with  badness,  and  likewise 
eager  admirers  of  modes  of  life  that  are  foreign  to  the  nature 
of  the  gods:  and,  to  speak  briefly,  they  become  like  the  evil 
demons  with  whom  they  are  now  joined  in  their  nature.  These, 
then,  being  full  of  disorderly  passion  and  badness,  through 
their  common  nature  attract  the  evil  spirits  to  themselves  and 
are  themselves  incited  by  them  to  every  kind  of  wickedness. 
They  grow  together  like  beings  of  the  same  birth,  as  in  a  circle, 
joining  the  beginning  with  the  end  and  returning  in  the  other 
direction  in  like  manner. 

These  things  are  sacrilegious  misdeeds,  full  of  impiety. 
They  have  been  brought  into  the  Sacred  Rites  irregularly, 
and  their  observance  attempted  in  a  disorderly  manner  by 
those  who  have  come  later.*  At  one  time,  as  it  seems,  one  god 
would  be  caused  to  be  present  instead  of  another  at  the  homos, 
or  mystic  revel,  and  at  another  they  would  introduce  evil  de- 
mons instead  of  gods,  calling  them  rival  gods.  Never,  when 
discoursing  about  Sacerdotal  Divination,  set  forth  these  things 
as  examples.  For  Goodness  is  certainly  more  opposed  to  in- 
trinsic badness  than  those  to  that  which  is  simply  not  good. 

As,  therefore,  the  profaners  of  temples  fight  against  the 
religious  service  of  the  gods  most  of  all,  so  also  those  who  have 


*It  was  usual  at  the  Eleusiuian  Initiations,  and  others,  to  have  a 
minor  observance  for  those  who  did  not  reach  the  temple  soon  enougo 
for  the  regular  proceedings.  Probably  irregularities  might  occur  on  such 
occasions,  but  had  to  be  guarded  against. 


EVIL  OVERTHROWN  167 

to  do  with  demons  that  lead  astray  and  are  causes  of  excess 
undoubtedly  take  the  lead  in  fighting  against  theurgists  them- 
selves. For  not  only  is  every  evil  spirit  driven  away  by  them, 
and  is  utterly  overthrown,  but  every  species  of  badness  and 
every  disorderly  passion  made  an  end  of  altogether.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  is  a  free  participation  of  benefits  among  the 
pure;  they  are  filled  from  above  from  the  fire  of  truth,  and 
they  have  no  "impediment"  or  hindrance  to  the  good  things 
of  the  soul  from  bad  spirits.  Nor  does  there  any  arrogance 
or  adulation  or  enjoyment  of  exhalations  or  force  of  violence 
greatly  annoy  them.  On  the  contrary,  all  these,  as  though 
struck  by  a  bolt  of  lightning,  give  way,  and  fall  back  without 
touching — not  able  even  to  approach  them. 

This  kind  of  divination  is  immaculate  and  sacerdotal,  and 
is  likewise  truly  divine.  It  does  not,  as  thou  remarkest,  re- 
quire an  umpire,  whether  me  or  some  one  else,  in  order  that 
I  may  distinguish  it  out  of  many.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  itself 
distinct  from  them  all,  superior  above  them,  sempiternal,  pre- 
existent,  not  admitting  any  parallel  nor  the  arranging  of  any 
superiority  in  many  respects,  but  is  free  by  itself,  and  takes 
the  lead  in  a  single  form  over  all.  To  this  it  is  necessary  that 
thou,  and  every  one  that  is  a  genuine  lover  of  the  gods,  should 
give  himself  wholly;  for  by  such  means,  truth,  which  gives  a 
good  foothold,  is  obtained  at  once  in  divinations,  and  perfect 
excellence  in  souls,  and  with  both  these  the  way  upward  will 
be  granted  to  the  theurgists  to  the  Intellectual  Fire,  which 
is  placed  before  as  the  end  of  all  knowledge  and  of  every  the- 
urgic  transaction. 

To  no  purpose,  therefore,  thou  bringest  forward  the  notion 
which  some  entertain :  That  divination  is  the  work  of  an  evil 
demon.  For  the  notion  is  not  worthy  to  be  remembered  in 
the  speculations  respecting  the  gods.  At  the  same  time,  also, 
these  individuals  are  ignorant  of  the  difference  between  truth 
and  falsehood,  because  they  have  been  reared  in  darkness  from 
the  beginning,  and  likewise  are  not  able  to  discern  the  prin- 
ciples from  which  these  things  are  derived. 

With  these  conclusions,  therefore,  let  us  bring  to  a  close 
these  explanations  in  respect  to  the  nature  of  Divination. 


X 

CONCERNING   THE   POWERS   INVOKED 


PART   IV 

THE  INVOCATION  OF  THE  THEURGIC  RITES 


CHAPTER  X 

CONCERNING  THE  POWERS  INVOKED 

Come,  then,  let  us  look  over  the  opposing  propositions  in 
their  order,  what  they  are,  and  what  reason  there  is  for  them. 
And  if  we  let  ourselves  go  on  a  little  more  at  length  in  regard 
to  some,  as  though  speaking  indeed  by  particular  authority 
and  at  our  own  convenience,  thou  shouldst  wait  and  bear  with 
us  patiently.  For  in  regard  to  the  Supreme  Sciences,  if  thou 
wouldst  know  them  perfectly,  it  is  necessary  that  great  dili- 
gence shall  be  observed  and  likewise  that  they  shall  be  inves- 
tigated for  a  long  time  with  rigorous  exactness.  Thou  wilt, 
therefore,  according  to  the  present  plan,  as  thou  hast  begun, 
put  forward  the  questions  at  issue  which  constitute  the  topics 
for  discussion,  and  I  in  my  turn  will  give  thee  an  answer. 

Accordingly,  thou  sayest:  "It  perplexes  me  greatly  to 
form  a  conception  how  they  who  are  invoked  as  superior 
beings  are  likewise  commanded  like  inferiors." 

I  will  tell  thee  in  reply  the  whole  distinction  in  regard  to 
the  beings  that  are  invoked  that  is  worthy  of  a  word;  from 

171 


173  THE   EGYPTIAN   MYSTERIES 

which  thou  wilt  have  an  intelligible  explanation  as  to  what 
may  be  and  what  may  not  be,  in  regard  to  the  matters  of  which 
thou  art  asking.  For  the  gods,  the  beings  superior  to  us,  by 
a  purposing  of  the  things  that  are  beautiful,  and  likewise  by 
an  ungrudging  affluence  of  benefits,  bestow  cordially  the  things 
that  are  suitable  upon  those  who  are  worthy,  compassionating 
the  labors  of  the  men  in  the  Sacred  office,  but  loving  their 
children,  their  nurslings  and  pupils. 

The  intermediary  races,*  however,  are  the  ephors  or  di- 
rectors of  decision.  They  likewise  advise  what  it  is  necessary 
to  do  and  what  it  is  well  to  desist  from.  They  also  help  to 
just  actions,  but  hinder  from  those  that  are  unjust,  and  they 
likewise  cause  many  who  are  endeavoring  to  despoil  others 
unjustly,  or  to  ill-treat  or  destroy  some  one,  to  undergo  the 
same  things  which  they  are  designing  to  perform  to  others. 

There  is,  moreover,  a  certain  other  race  of  demons  present, 
irrational  and  destitute  of  judgment,  to  which  has  been  allotted 
only  a  single  faculty  in  the  series,  by  the  distribution  to  each 
of  the  function  which  has  been  arranged  among  the  several 
divisions.  As,  therefore,  it  is  the  function  of  the  sword  to 
cut  and  to  do  nothing  else  than  this,  so  also  of  the  spirits 
distributed  everywhere  according  to  the  differentiating  ne- 
cessity of  the  realm  of  nature,  one  class  divides  and  another 
collects  the  things  that  come  into  existence.  This,  however, 
is  well  known  from  the  manifestations.  For  the  Charoneian 
cavities,!  as  they  are  called,  send  forth  a  spirit  or  exhalation 
from  their  recesses,  which  is  capable  of  destroying  everything 
indiscriminately  that  happens  to  be  there. 

So,  therefore,  certain  invisible  spirits,  each  having  by  al- 
lotment a  different  function,  are  constituted  to  perform  that 


*Proklos  enumerates  three  classes  of  the  demons:  the  more  spiritual, 
the  more  rational,  and  the  more  unreasoning.  The  guides  of  Sokrates 
and  Plotinos  were  of  the  second  of  these.    They  are  here  described. 

fCharoneia  is  a  district  in  Asia  Minor,  bordering  on  the  river  Mean- 
der. The  name  is  from  Charon,  the  supposed  ferryman  of  disbodied 
souls  across  the  river  Styx  in  the  Underworld.  The  caves,  or,  rather, 
little  openings  in  the  ground,  emitted  a  sulphurous  vapor,  sometimes 
destructive  to  life.  Pliny  also  mentions  similar  cavities  at  Italy,  near 
Puteoli.    They  were  supposed  to  lead  to  the  realm  of  Hades. 


THE    SPIRITS    COMMANDED  173 

office  only  as  it  has  been  arranged.  If,  then,  any  one  shall 
undertake  to  celebrate  the  Perfective  Rites  in  proper  order, 
and  shall  change  them  in  another  direction,  and  do  some- 
thing contrary  to  prescribed  custom,  there  will  be  a  particular 
injury  for  making  use  of  the  Sacred  Rites  in  an  unlawful 
manner.    This  is  a  topic,  however,  foreign  to  our  discourse. 

WHY  SPIRITS  ARE  COMMANDED 

What,  however,  it  is  now  proposed  to  investigate  we  some- 
times behold  as  it  takes  place.  For  it  happens  in  regard  to 
the  spirits  that  do  not  make  use  of  a  rational  faculty  of  their 
own  and  have  no  principle  of  judgment,  that  they  are  com- 
manded ;  and  this  is  not  unreasonable.  For  our  understand- 
ing, being  naturally  endowed  to  reason  and  decide,  in  the  same 
way  as  it  has  charge  of  affairs,  and  likewise  comprehending 
many  of  the  forces  of  life  in  itself,  is  accustomed  to  dominate 
the  most  irrational  and  those  that  have  only  a  single  energy 
complete.  Hence  it  calls  upon  them  as  superior  beings,  be- 
cause it  is  endeavoring  to  draw  from  the  whole  cosmic  world 
that  encompasses  us  the  things  which  perfect  us  entirely  in 
respect  to  the  matters  that  are  held  among  divisible  things. 
But  it  commands  them  imperatively  as  inferiors,*  because 
certain  parts  (of  our  nature  while)  in  the  world  frequently 
are  more  pure  and  more  perfect  than  (faculties)  that  extend 
to  the  whole  cosmos ;  as,  for  example,  if  one  is  spiritual  and 
intellectible  and  the  other  is  wholly  non-spiritual  or  belong- 
ing to  the  sphere  of  nature ;  for  then  the  one  that  is  less  ex- 
tended and  developed  is  superior  in  authority  to  the  one  that 
is  developed  more  amply,  although  it  may  be  surpassed  by  the 
latter  in  the  magnitude  and  extent  of  dominion. 

There  is,  however,  also  another  reason  to  be  applied  to 
these  things,  namely :  There  is  a  twofold  prelude  to  the  whole 
theurgic  performance.  The  former,  which  is  introduced  as 
by  human  beings,  which  conserves  our  rank  in  the  universe  as 
it  exists  in  the  sphere  of  nature ;  and  the  latter,  which  is  con- 


*These  irrational  spirits,  so  far  as  they  contribute  to  perfecting  indi- 
viduals, are  superior  to  us,  though  because  of  their  irrationality  they  are 
inferior. 


174  INVOCATIONS 

firmed  by  divine  tokens,  exalted  on  high  through  being  allied 
to  the  superior  beings,  and  likewise  led  harmoniously  after 
their  beautiful  order,  which  may  also  in  all  likelihood  be  in- 
vested with  the  external  form  of  the  gods.  In  accordance, 
therefore,  with  the  difference  of  such  a  kind,  the  officiator 
very  properly  invokes  the  powers  from  everywhere  as  superior 
beings,  in  so  far  as  the  invoker  is  a  human  being,  and  in  turn 
commands  them  as  subordinate;  since  through  the  arcane 
symbols  he  is  in  a  manner  encompassed  with  the  sacred  dignity 
of  the  gods. 

SUGGESTIONS  IN  REGARD  TO  INVOCATIONS 

Yet  in  order  to  resolve  the  doubts  of  these  things  still  more 
truly,  we  think  it  well,  when  making  the  invocations,  to  omit 
the  supplications  which  appear  to  be  directed  to  them  as  to 
human  beings,  and  also  the  imperative  expressions  which 
are  uttered  with  great  force  during  the  celebrating  of  the 
Kites.  For  if  the  communion  of  a  harmonious  friendship 
and  an  indissoluble  combining  together  as  being  only  one 
comprise  the  sacred  work,  nothing  of  achievements  called 
human  joins  with  it,  to  the  end  that  it  shall  be  truly  of  the 
gods  and  superior  to  human  beings.  Nor  should  the  invoca- 
tion be  in  such  a  manner  as  when  we  endeavor  to  bring  distant 
objects  to  us,  nor  the  supplication  of  the  form  addressed  to 
beings  separate  and  apart  in  such  a  manner  as  we  pass  some- 
thing from  one  to  another.  But  energy  of  the  divine  Fire 
itself  shines  forth  spontaneously  in  all  directions,  and  being 
both  self-called  and  self-operating,  is  active  in  like  manner 
through  all  things,  those  alike  that  impart  and  those  that  can 
receive  it. 

The  explanation  which  is  now  made  is  far  superior,  which 
does  not  assume  that  divine  operations  are  accomplished  by 
means  of  contrary  or  different  natures,  as  things  of  nature 
are  wont  to  be  effected;  but,  instead,  that  every  work  is 
rightly  accomplished  through  sameness,  oneness  and  con- 
formity of  nature.  If,  then,  we  should  make  a  distinction  be- 
tween the  invoker  and  the  invoked,  the  commander  and  the 
one  commanded,  the  superior  and  the  inferior,  we  should  in 


KARMA  175 

some  way  transfer  the  contrariety  of  sex  that  is  peculiar  to 
generated  beings  to  the  unbegotten  blessed  natures  of  the  gods. 
If,  then,  as  is  right,  we  disregard  all  these  matters  as  being 
earth-born,  but  assign  as  being  more  precious  that  which  is 
common  and  simple  to  the  beings  that  are  superior  to  the 
diversified  conditions  existing  here,  the  first  thing  assumed 
by  these  questions  will  be  at  once  completely  answered,  so 
that  there  will  not  be  a  single  reasonable  point  of  controversy 
left  in  regard  to  them. 

KARMA  OR  ILLS  FROM  FORMER  LIVES 

What  shall  we  say,  then,  in  regard  to  the  question,  after 
the  one  just  answered:  ''Why  do  the  divinities  that  are 
invoked  require  the  worshiper  to  be  just,  although  they  them- 
selves when  entreated  consent  to  perform  unjust  acts?" 

In  reply  to  this  I  am  uncertain  in  respect  to  what  is  meant 
by  "performing  unjust  acts,"  as  the  same  definition  may  not 
appear  right  both  to  us  and  to  the  gods.  We,  on  the  one  hand, 
looking  to  that  which  is  least  significant,  consider  the  things 
that  are  present,  the  momentary  life,  what  it  is  and  how  it 
originates.  The  beings  superior  to  us,  let  me  say,  know  for 
certain  the  whole  life  of  the  soul  and  all  its  former  lives ;  and 
if  they  bring  on  a  retribution  from  the  supplication  of  those 
who  invoke  them,  they  do  not  increase  it  beyond  what  is  just. 
On  the  contrary,  they  aim  at  the  sins  impressed  upon  the  soul 
in  former  lifetimes,  which  men,  not  perceiving,  imagine  that 
it  is  unjust  that  they  shall  fall  into  the  misfortunes  which 
they  suffer. 

The  many  are  also  generally  accustomed  to  propose  the 
same  doubt  in  regard  to  Providence ;  that  certain  persons  are 
suffering  from  wrong-doing,  who  had  not  wronged  any  one 
previously.  For  they  are  unable  here  to  reason  as  to  what 
the  soul  is,  what  its  entire  life  has  been,  the  magnitude  of  its 
great  errors  in  former  lives,  and  whether  it  is  now  suffering 
these  things  for  what  it  did  formerly.  Then  also  there  are 
many  unjust  acts  which  elude  human  cognizance,  but  which 
are  well  known  to  the  gods,  since  the  same  view  of  justice  is 
not  maintained  by  mankind  generally.    On  the  contrary,  men 


176  THE    GODS    AND    JUSTICE 

define  justice  as  the  independent  action  of  the  Soul  and  the 
assigning  of  merit  according  to  the  established  laws  and  the 
ruling  conditions  of  civic  life.  The  gods,  I  assure  you,  give 
their  judgment  of  whatever  is  just,  looking  to  the  whole 
orderly  arrangement  of  the  world,  and  to  the  joint  relation  of 
the  souls  with  the  gods.  Hence  the  judgment  of  what  actions 
are  right  is  different  with  the  gods  from  what  it  is  with  us. 
We  cannot  wonder  at  this,  if  we  do  not  in  most  matters  ar- 
rive at  the  high  and  absolutely  perfect  judgment  which  is 
exercised  by  the  superior  beings.  But  what  hinders  justice 
to  every  one  individually  and  with  the  whole  family  of  souls, 
especially  in  a  much  superior  manner  from  being  as  would  be 
approved  of  the  gods?  For  if  a  sharing  of  the  same  nature 
by  souls  when  they  are  in  bodies  and  when  they  are  apart 
from  bodies  effects  an  intimate  alliance  to  the  common  life 
and  order  of  the  world,  it  is  also  necessary  that  the  payment 
of  the  requirements  of  justice  shall  be  demanded  to  the  utter- 
most, and  especially  when  the  magnitude  of  the  wrongs  done 
by  the  one  soul  in  former  terms  of  existence  exceeds  the  fullest 
extent  of  the  single  punishment  following  upon  the  offenses. 
If,  however,  any  one  should  add  other  explanations,  by 
which  he  seeks  to  make  plain  in  a  different  way  the  main- 
taining of  justice  by  the  gods,  or  as  it  is  determined  by  us, 
there  may  result  from  them  a  way  for  us  in  regard  to  the 
matters  under  consideration.  But  for  me  the  rules  alone 
which  have  been  already  laid  down  are  sufficient  for  the  pur- 
pose of  manifesting  generally  the  race  of  superior  beings, 
and  including  everything  in  relation  to  the  healing  influence 
in  the  punishments. 

GOOD  ONLY  IS  FROM  THE  GODS 

In  order,  therefore,  that  we  may  from  our  abundance  de- 
cide the  contest  against  the  assumption  now  under  discussion, 
we  will,  if  agreeable  to  thee,  consider  as  granted  the  contrary 
of  what  we  have  argued,  namely,  that  unjust  things  are  per- 
formed in  the  proceedings,  the  invocations.  It  is  evident 
at  once,  therefore,  that  the  gods  are  not  to  be  accused  of  these 
things.     For  they  who  are  good  are  causes  and  authors  of 


BEING    IS     SIMPLE  177 

good  things;  and  the  gods  are  good  in  their  veiy  essence. 
They  accordingly  do  nothing  unjust ;  hence  it  is  necessary  to 
seek  for  other  causes  of  the  things  which  occur  discordantly. 
But  even  though  we  are  not  able  to  find  these,  we  ought  not 
to  throw  away  the  true  concept  in  relation  to  the  gods  (that 
they  are  the  causes  only  of  what  is  just) ;  nor  should  we,  be- 
cause of  controversy  as  to  whether  things  occur  and  how  they 
occur,  reject  notions  in  regard  to  the  gods  that  are  really 
clear.  For  it  is  much  better  to  confess  the  feebleness  of  our 
powers  that  are  unable  to  understand  how  unjust  acts  are 
perpetuated,  than  to  concede  an  impossible  falsehood  in  re- 
spect to  the  gods,  concerning  which  all  the  Greek  philosophers, 
and  likewise  the  foreign  peoples,  rightly  entertain  the 
contrary  opinion.     So,  then,  this  is  the  truth. 

EVIL  DEMONS  AT  THE  INITIATIONS 

Nevertheless,  it  is  necessary  to  add  also  the  causes  by 
which  evils  sometimes  come  into  existence,  and  likewise  how 
numerous  and  of  what  kind  they  are.  For  their  form  is  not 
simple,*  and  being  diversified  it  takes  the  lead  in  the  bringing 
of  a  variety  of  evils  into  existence.  For  if  we  spoke  truly 
just  now  in  regard  to  the  mystic  figures  and  the  evil  demons, 
that  after  the  manner  of  actors  in  a  play  assume  to  be  present 
in  the  character  of  gods  and  good  demons,  there  appears  in 
some  manner  a  malignant  tribe  rushing  in  a  numerous  body, 
and  with  these  the  discrepancy  which  thou  hast  described 
usually  happens.  For  the  demons  require  the  worshiper  to 
be  just,  because  they  themselves  as  actors  in  the  drama  are 
assuming  to  be,  as  if  of  the  race  of  the  gods,  whereas  they  are 
servants  to  injustice  because  they  are  in  their  nature  evil. 

Let  there  be,  therefore,  the  same  statement  in  regard  to 
false  and  true,  and  of  good  and  evil.  In  the  divinations  we 
attribute  truth  to  the  gods  only,  and  when  falsehood  is  de- 
tected impute  it  to  another  race  as  the  cause,  that  of  the 
demons.  So  also  in  regard  to  matters  just  and  unjust;  that 
what  is  beautiful  and  right  is  to  be  ascribed  only  to  the  gods 
and  good  demons,  while  the  demons  who  are  evil  by  nature 

♦Heal  being,  only  is  simple  and  unique :  evil  is  alwaj^s  complex. 


178  CO-OPERATION 

do  the  things  that  are  unjust  and  dishonorable.  That  which 
is  in  all  respects  in  harmony  with  itself,  and  is  always  in  the 
same  manner  in  itself  and  with  itself,  pertains  to  the  superior 
beings ;  but  that  which  is  contradictory,  discordant  and  never 
the  same,  is  the  peculiarity  of  the  dissensions  of  the  demons. 
Hence  it  is  no  matter  of  wonder  in  regard  to  them  if  violent 
conflicts  exist.  Indeed,  it  would  be  more  wonderful  if  this 
should  not  be  the  case. 

CO-OPERATION  OF  PARTS  IN  THE  UNIVERSE 

Hurrying  out  from  another  line  of  argument,  we  assume 
that  the  several  parts  of  the  body  of  the  universe  are  not 
inert  or  destitute  of  power.  On  the  contrary,  so  far  as  they 
excel  our  conditions  in  perfection,  beauty  and  magnitude  by 
so  much  we  insist  that  the  greater  power  is  present  with  them. 
They  are  themselves  capable  of  different  things  individually 
by  themselves,  and  they  employ  diverse  energies;  but  they 
can  accomplish  much  more  in  a  certain  degree  acting  with  one 
another.  Indeed,  there  is  a  certain  creative  activity  of  vari- 
ous kinds  extending  from  the  whole  universe  into  the  parts 
either  from  sympathy  through  similarity  of  powers,  or  from 
the  adaptation  of  the  active  to  the  passive  principle. 

If,  therefore,  there  happen  by  corporeal  necessities,  any 
mischievous  and  destructive  results  to  parts,  yet  they  are 
salutary  and  beneficial  as  regards  the  whole  and  the  entire 
framework.  But  they  bring  on  a  necessary  decay  to  the  parts, 
either  from  not  being  able  to  conduct  the  operations  of  the 
whole ;  or  secondly,  from  a  commingling  and  combining  of  the 
infirmities  existing  from  themselves;  or  thirdly,  from  the 
want  of  harmony  of  the  parts  with  one  another. 

MANY   THINGS   ORIGINATE    SPONTANEOUSLY 

Next  in  course  after  the  body  of  the  Universe,  there  are 
many  things  coming  into  existence  from  its  productive  prin- 
ciple.*   For  the  harmonious  union  of  the  things  that  are  of 

*The  cpvaiq  (phusis),  or  nature,  is  here  indicated  as  the  maternal 
function  of  the  world,  by  which  the  multiplicity  of  created  things  are 
brought  forth  into  existence. 


SPONTANEITY  179 

like  nature,  and  the  repulsion  of  those  that  are  unlike,  pro- 
duce not  a  few.  Moreover,  the  joining  of  the  many  is  one,  the 
Living  Principle  of  the  Universe,*  and  the  forces  in  the  world, 
however  many  and  of  whatever  kind  they  may  be,  bring  to 
perfection,  to  speak  in  plain  terms,  one  thing  in  respect  to 
the  whole,  but  another  in  respect  to  the  parts,  owing  to  the 
relative  feebleness  of  the  parts  when  they  are  separate;  just 
as  Attraction,  Love  and  Repulsion, f  which  are  present  in  the 
universe  as  energy,  become  passive  conditions  in  those  that 
participate  individually,  taking  the  lead  in  ideals  and  pure 
principles  in  the  nature  of  wholes,!  they  share  in  a  certain 
deficiency  and  unshapeliness  which  are  incident  to  matter  in 
regard  to  things  of  a  divisible  quality.  In  respect  to  wholes, 
they  are  united,  but  in  regard  to  parts  they  are  at  variance. 
Thus  do  differentiated  natures  that  participate  in  these  im- 
perfections in  conjunction  with  matter  deteriorate  in  regard 
to  everything  that  is  good,  perfect  and  universal.  Sometimes 
they  decay  in  parts  in  order  that  the  entire  natures  which  are 
compacted  firmly  together  may  be  preserved.  Sometimes,  also, 
the  parts  are  tormented  and  weighed  down,  while  the  natures 
that  are  entire  remain  insensible  to  such  molestation. 


DIVINITY  NOT  THE  AUTHOR  OF  WRONG 

Let  us,  therefore,  bring  together  the  results  from  these 
conclusions.  For  if  some  of  those  who  make  the  invocations 
(at  the  Rites)  employ  the  natural  or  corporeal  powers  of  the 
universe,  the  gift  comes  of  energy  unpremeditated  and  with- 
out evil.    Indeed,  it  is  the  one  using  the  gift  improperly  who 


•The  Aniraa  Mundi,  or  Soul  of  the  world. 

f  Greek,  <pilid,  k'Qcog,  veiKog,   The  ancient  verse  repeated  this  state- 
ment as  follows : 

"The  race  of  Immortals  was  not  till  Eros  mingled  all  together : 
But  when  the  elements  were  mixed  with  one  another, 
Heaven  was  produced,  the  ocean  and  earth  and  the  imperishable  race  of 
the  blessed  gods." 

|" Wholes"  being  complete  are  undivided  into  parts,  but  complete  in 
every  respect. 


180  DIVINITY  ALWAYS  EIGHT 

diverts  it  to  contrary  and  useless  purposes;  and  then  it  is 
joined  in  a  contrary  manner  sympathetically  to  passive  con- 
ditions through  similarity  of  nature,  but  he  draws  the  gift 
directly  contrary  to  the  right  toward  what  is  evil  and  base. 
He  also  makes  the  things  that  are  farthest  apart  to  operate 
together  according  to  the  one  established  order  of  the  world. 
Yet  if  any  one,  perceiving  this,  should  endeavor  improperly 
to  attract  certain  parts  of  the  universe  to  other  parts,  they  will 
not  be  the  cause  of  that  mischief ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  it  will 
be  the  temerity  of  human  beings,  and  the  violation  of  order 
in  the  world,  that  pervert  the  things  that  are  good  and  lawful. 

Hence,  therefore,  the  things  that  are  considered  to  be 
wicked  the  gods  do  not  perform,  but,  on  the  contrary,  the 
natures  that  are  beneath  them  are  the  causes  of  them,  and 
likewise  the  bodies.  Nor  do  these,  as  is  supposed,  impart 
from  themselves  anything  of  a  faulty  character ;  but  they  send 
down  instead,  for  the  safety  of  all,  their  own  auras  to  those 
races  that  are  allotted  to  the  earth,*  and  those  who  receive 
these  emanations  change  them  by  their  own  commingling  and 
modifying  and  transfer  what  had  been  given  for  one  purpose 
to  others  widely  different. 

From  all  these  things,  therefore,  it  is  shown  that  the  di- 
vinity is  in  no  sense  a  source  of  evils  and  wrongs. 

CONTINENCE 

Moreover,  thou  askest,  and  at  the  same  time  hintest  a 
doubt  with  this  question:  "They  (the  gods)  will  not  hearken 
to  the  person  who  is  invoking  them,  if  he  is  not  pure  from 
sexual  contamination.  Yet  they  do  not  themselves  hesitate 
to  lead  chance  individuals  into  unlawful  sexual  relations.*' 

Whether  there  are  occurrences  that  take  place  outside  of 
human  laws,  but  according  to  another  and  higher  source  and 
order  than  the  laws;  or  whether  occurrences  of  this  kind 
happen,  and  according  to  an  agreement  and  affection  in  the 
world,  but  yet  in  part  through  some  commingling  sympathy; 
or  whether  the  gift  of  beauty  which  was  graciously  imparted 
is  perverted  by  those  who  receive  it  to  that  which  is  the  op- 

*The  "archons"  of  the  lower  earthly  class. 


HARMONIOUS    ADAPTATION  181 

posite,  there  is,  nevertheless,  a  clear  solution  from  the  things 
that  have  been  said  before. 

SOURCES  OF  INCONTINENCE 

Of  a  truth  it  is  not  necessary  to  examine  separately  in 
regard  to  these  same  things,  and  how  they  occur  and  what 
reason  there  is  for  them.  We  must  bear  in  mind  that  "the 
whole  universe  is  a  single  living  being,"  and  the  parts  in  it 
are  separated  by  spaces,  but  with  one  nature,  and  are  desirous 
to  be  with  one  another.*  The  whole  impulse  for  coming  to- 
gether and  the  cause  of  commingling  attract  the  parts  spon- 
taneously to  an  intimate  union.  It  is  also  possible,  however, 
for  this  to  be  excited  by  artificial  means,  and  likewise  to  be 
increased  beyond  what  is  becoming. 

The  cause  itself,  therefore,  considered  by  itself  alone,  ex- 
tending from  itself  about  the  whole  world,  is  both  good  and 
a  source  of  completeness,  and  also  of  communion,  conjunction 
and  harmonious  adaptation,  and  with  the  union  it  also  intro- 
duces the  indissoluble  principle  of  Love  which  retains  and 
preserves  both  the  things  that  are  and  the  things  that  come 
into  existence.  But  in  the  parts  (the  incomplete  natures)  it 
occurs  that  by  reason  of  their  separateness  from  each  other 
and  from  the  perfect  natures,  and  likewise  because  they  are 
incomplete,  deficient  and  weak  in  their  own  nature,  there  is  a 
connection  effected  through  the  passive  condition.  On  this 
account  there  are  innate  desire  and  appetite  inherent  in  the 
principal  number  of  them. 

In  Art,  therefore,  observing  that  this  innate  desire  is  thus 
implanted  by  Nature  and  distributed  through  her  domain,  and 
being  itself  distributed  over  the  realm  of  nature  in  many 
forms,  attracts  it  and  leads  it  on.  That  which  in  itself  is  ar- 
ranged in  order,  it  brings  into  disorder,  and  that  which  is 
beautiful  it  fills  with  ideals  of  corresponding  disfigurement. 
The  Sacred  Purpose  in  them  all  which  is  by  nature  that  on 


*Plotinos:  Ennead  IV,  iv,  32.  "This  all  is  one  and  as  a  single  living 
being.  Being  a  living  being  and  completely  one,  there  is  nothing  in  it 
so  distant  in  space  as  not  to  be  near  to  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  one 
living  being  through  common  sympathy." 


182  WHITE    MAGIC 

union  it  changes  to  an  unseemly  complement  of  a  different 
character,  a  bringing  together  of  diverse  things  in  some  way 
according  to  a  common  passive  condition.  It  likewise  gives 
forth  a  material  from  itself  which  is  adverse  to  the  entire 
creation  of  what  is  beautiful,  either  not  receiving  beauty  at 
all,  or  changing  it  to  something  else.  It  likewise  mingles  with 
many  different  forces  of  the  realm  of  nature,  from  which 
it  directs  as  it  pleases  the  comminglings  incident  to  the  sphere 
of  creation.* 

"We  show,  therefore,  from  every  side  that  such  argument 
for  sexual  connections  comes  from  a  technique  or  art  of  human 
origin,  but  is  never  from  any  necessity  demonian  or  divine. 

INCONTINENCE  PROMPTED  FROM  EVIL  DEMONS 

Consider,  therefore,  a  class  of  causes  of  a  different  kind : 
that  somehow  a  stone  or  plant  has  frequently  a  destroying 
quality  derived  from  them,  or  one  that  collects  together  those 
which  are  productive.  For  it  is  not  by  any  means  in  respect 
to  these  things  alone,  but  also  in  respect  to  greater  natures 
or  in  greater  things  that  this  natural  superiority  exists,  which 
they  who  are  unable  to  examine,  reflect  upon  and  determine, 
may  easily  attribute  to  the  superior  operations  of  nature. 
Already,  moreover,  it  may  be  conceded  that  in  the  realm  of 
generated  existence,  in  respect  to  human  affairs  and  in  mat- 
ters generally  about  the  earth,  the  tribe  of  evil  demons  is 
able  to  hold  superior  dominion.  What  wonder  is  it,  then,  if 
such  a  race  performs  such  works'?  For  every  man  may  not 
be  able  to  discriminate  which  is  the  good  and  which  the  evil 
selfhood,  or  by  what  tokens  they  may  be  distinguished  from 
one  another.  Indeed,  those  who  are  not  able  to  perceive  the 
distinction  come  to  conclusions  absurdly  concerning  the  en- 


*"The  Magic  Art  (white  magic)  is  regarded  by  the  Greeks  as  an 
agency  of  great  power.  They  declare  it  to  be  actually  the  very  extreme 
of  the  Sacred  Knowledge.  For  it  searches  out  everything  under  the 
moon,  its  nature,  virtue  and  quality :  I  mean  the  elements  and  their 
component  parts,  being  animals,  plants  of  all  kinds  and  their  fruits, 
Btones  and  herbs :  and  in  short,  everything  with  its  substance  and  power. 
Hence,  therefore,  it  works  out  results  of  itself:  it  employs  schemes  of 
every  kind,  images  promotive  of  health." 


CAUSES    OF   EVIL    NOT    DIVINE  183 

quiry  in  regard  to  the  cause  of  these  agencies  and  refer  it  to 
the  races  superior  to  the  realm  of  nature  and  to  the  order  of 
demons.  But  even  though  powers  of  the  particled*  soul  are 
comprehended  in  respect  to  these  things  as  to  their  accom- 
plishment, both  while  it  holds  to  the  body  and  when  it  has  left 
the  oyster-like  and  earthly  corporeality,!  but  yet  wanders 
below  around  the  places  of  creation  in  a  disturbed  and  melting 
spirit — nevertheless  the  same  opinion  would  be  true;  but  it 
places  the  cause  far  away  from  the  superior  beings.  By  no 
means,  therefore,  does  the  divine  nature  nor  a  good  demon 
minister  to  the  unlawful  desires  of  human  beings  in  regard 
to  sexual  matters,  since  there  are  many  other  causes  of  these. 


*The  human  soul  is  particled,  divided  not  only  by  qualities  but  also 
by  being  partly  included  in  the  category  and  influence  of  the  body  while 
the  nobler  part  is  still  in  a  manner  a  denizen  of  the  Eternal  Region. 
Hence  the  declaration  of  Paul  to  the  Corinthian  believers :  "We  know 
that  though  our  earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle  should  be  dissolved,  we 
have  a  divine  building,  a  house  not  made  by  hands,  eternal  in  the 
heavens." 

f Plato:  Phcedros — "This  which  we  now  cany  with  lis  and  call  'the 
body,'  fastened  to  it  like  an  oyster  to  its  shell." 


XI 
SACRIFICES  AND  PRAYERS 


PART  V 

SACRIFICES   AND   PRAYERS 


CHAPTER   XI 
THE  QUESTION  STATED 

The  subject,  therefore,  concerning  which  thou  makest  thy 
next  enquiry,  is  a  common  theme  of  discussion  with  every- 
body, both  those  who  are  proficient  in  the  sacred  learning  and 
those  less  skilled  in  such  matters.  I  am  speaking  in  regard  to 
Sacrifices :  "What  utility  or  power  they  possess  in  the  world 
and  with  the  gods,  and  for  what  reason  they  are  performed 
appropriate  for  the  beings  thus  honored,  and  advantageously 
for  the  persons  who  present  the  gifts." 

There  is  also  added  in  the  same  connection  another  oppos- 
ing remark:  "The  gods  also  require  that  interpreters  of  the 
oracles  observe  strict  abstinence  from  animal  substances,  in 
order  that  they  may  not  be  made  impure  by  the  fumes  from 
the  bodies,  yet  they  themselves  are  allured  most  of  all  by  the 
fumes  of  the  sacrifices  of  animals." 

NO  ACTUAL  CONFLICT  AS  SUGGESTED 

It  is  easy  enough,  therefore,  for  any  one  to  dispose  of  the 
conflict  which  thou  suggestest.  He  has  simply  to  point  out 
the  excellence  of  wholes  as  compared  to  the  incomplete  natures 
and  to  call  attention  to  the  absolute  superiority  of  the  gods 
to  human  beings.  What  I  now  affirm  is  the  following  theorem : 
That  for  the  Universal  Soul  to  preside  over  the  world-body 
of  the  Universe  and  for  the  gods  of  the  sky  to  take  the  celestial 
body  (or  sphere)  for  a  vehicle,  is  neither  injurious  as  a  re- 
ceptacle of  passions  nor  an  impediment  to  the  conceptions  of 
mind,  but  that  for  the  imperfect  soul  to  be  in  partnership  with 

187 


188  SACRIFICED  ANIMALS 

a  body  is  unprofitable  in  both  these  respects.*  Suppose,  then, 
this  being  perceived,  some  difficult  problem  is  suggested,  like 
this,  for  example:  That  if  the  body  is  a  fetter  to  our  soul, 
it  will  also  be  a  fetter  to  the  soul  of  the  universe ;  and  if  the 
imperfect  soul  is  turned  to  the  body  with  reference  to  genera- 
tion, so  also  the  world-soul  will  be  affected  in  like  manner. 
Any  one  may  reply  to  this  by  declaring  that  such  an  objec- 
tion does  not  regard  the  superiority  of  the  higher  races  to 
human  beings  and  of  the  wholes  to  parts.  As,  therefore,  the 
converse  propositions  relate  to  matters  diverse  from  each 
other,  they  do  not  in  any  way  constitute  matters  for  dispute. 

IN  REGARD  TO  SACRIFICED  ANIMALS 

Here,  therefore,  the  same  reasoning  is  enough.  With  us 
the  enjoyment  incident  to  bodies  conjoined  with  the  soul  im- 
parts dullness  of  mind  and  actual  defilement,  and  likewise 
engenders  voluptuousness  and  produces  many  different  mala- 
dies of  the  soul.f  In  the  case,  however,  of  the  gods,  and  of  the 
creators  (causes)  of  the  universe  and  all  things,  however,  the 
exhalation  from  the  victims  going  up  in  a  manner  proper  in 
religious  rites,  and  likewise  encompassed  and  not  encompass- 
ing, and  itself  joined  to  the  all,  but  in  no  sense  joining  the 
universe  and  the  gods  with  itself,  is  itself  adapted  to  the 
superior  races  and  the  universal  causes,  but  never  restrains 
them  or  adapts  them  to  itself. 

DIVINITIES  OF  THE  SKY  NOT  AFFECTED  BY  EXHALATIONS 

For  if  the  matter  is  rightly  understood,  there  is  by  no 
means  any  difficulty  like  that  which  suggests  itself  to  thee 
and  about  which  thou  contendest  in  relation  to  Abstinence 


*Stobaeos  has  preserved  the  following  fragment  by  Iamblikhos,  set- 
ting forth  the  same  concept :  "All  souls  do  not  have  the  same  common 
relation  to  bodies,  but  the  Universal  Soul,  as  it  seemed  to  Plotinos,  issues 
forth  by  itself  and  comprises  the  body  in  itself,  but  it  does  not  couple 
with  the  body  nor  is  it  encompassed  by  it.  Imperfect  souls  (such  as 
human  beings  are  endowed  with),  however,  come  to  the  bodies  and  are 
born  with  them." 

fAndrokydes,  the  Pythagorean,  says:  "Wine  and  the  enjoyments  of 
flesh  make  the  body  vigorous,  but  the  soul  more  sluggish." 


ETHERIAL    BODIES    FREE    FROM    CHANGE  189 

from  Animal  Food.  For  they  who  conduct  the  worship  of 
the  gods  do  not  abstain  from  animal  food  in  order  that  the 
gods  may  not  be  denied  by  the  fumes  from  the  animals.  For 
what  exhalation  from  the  bodies  will  come  near  the  beings 
who,  before  anything  material  reaches  them  by  any  possibility, 
put  matter  away  from  touching  them?  Not  because  their 
power  removes  everything  that  causes  the  bodies  to  disappear 
without  coming  near  them;  but  on  the  contrary  the  celestial 
body  (the  planet)  is  unmingled  with  all  material  constituents.* 
It  does  not  receive  anything  into  itself  from  without,  and  it 
does  not  give  forth  any  particle  from  itself  to  things  foreign 
to  it.  How,  then,  can  any  earthly  vapor  which  does  not  rise 
five  stadia  (six  hundred  feet)  from  the  earth,  before  it  sinks 
down  to  it  again,  come  near  the  sky,  or  nourish  the  revolving 
and  non-material  body,  or,  in  short,  produce  in  it  any  defile- 
ment or  other  condition?  For  it  is  acknowledged  that  the 
setherial  body  is  outside  of  every  contrary  influence,  and  like- 
wise that  it  is  free  from  all  change;  that  it  is  entirely  pure 
from  every  possibility  of  being  transformed  into  something 
else,  and,  besides  this,  is  utterly  without  any  impulse  toward 
the  center  or  from  the  center.  Hence  it  is  stationary  in  one 
place,  or  it  revolves  in  an  orbit.  There  is  not,  therefore,  any 
common  nature,  or  power,  or  exhalation  of  the  bodies  which 
consist  of  different  forces  and  motions,  that  are  variously 
modified,  moving  upward  or  downward,  which  may  become 
mingled  with  the  bodies  in  the  sky.  Because,  therefore,  these 
essences  are  entirely  separate  and  diverse  from  them,  they 
effect  nothing  in  regard  to  them.  These,  being  unbegotten, 
cannot  undergo  any  change  in  themselves  from  those  that  are 
generated  and  subject  to  change.  How,  then,  may  the  essence 
of  the  divine  beings  be  denied  from  such  fumes  when,  as  we 
may  say,  they  put  quickly  away  at  a  single  impulse  the  vapors 
from  all  matter  and  bodies  composed  of  matter? 

It  is  not  proper,  therefore,  to  conjecture  this;  but  rather 
to  reflect  that  things  which  are  distributed  into  parts  can  have 

*Proklos  describes  a  celestial  body  or  planet  as  containing  the  highest 
principles  of  the  elements  and  as  characterized  by  vivific  unburning  fire; 
in  other  words,  a  vitalized  principle  extended. 


190  THE    DIVINE    NATUKE    NOT    AFFECTED 

a  certain  relation  to  each  other,  actively  or  passively,  the 
material  to  the  non-material,  and,  in  short,  like  natures  to 
like  natures.  Those,  however,  that  are  of  another  essence, 
and  such  as  are  entirely  superior,  and  which  likewise  are  en- 
dowed with  other  natures  and  faculties,  are  not  capable  of 
such  things  as  acting  upon  others  or  receiving  anything  from 
others.  The  defilement  proceeds,  therefore,  from  material 
objects  to  those  that  are  held  by  a  material  body.  It  is  neces- 
sary, accordingly,  for  those  to  be  purified  from  these  things 
who  are  likely  to  be  contaminated  from  matter.  They,  how- 
ever, who  are  completely  free  from  a  divisible  nature,  who  are 
entirely  without  the  power  of  receiving  conditions  from  matter 
into  themselves,  how  can  they  become  contaminated  by  ma- 
terial things'?  How  can  the  divine  nature,  which  is  preexistent 
and  superior  to  human  infirmity,  and  has  nothing  in  common 
with  us,  be  affected  from  my  emotions  or  those  of  any  other 
human  being? 

Neither  of  these,  accordingly,  makes  any  difference  to  the 
gods.  No  matter  is  it  that  we  are  endowed  with  bodies  from 
the  sphere  of  matter,  for  there  is  nothing,  in  short,  of  this 
with  them;  and,  as  they  are  entirely  pure  and  unmingied  es- 
sences, they  are  not  defiled  from  our  stains,  nor  is  it  of  any 
consequence  if  material  exhalations  of  bodies  are  given  off 
around  the  earth,  for  these  are  the  farthest  remote  from  their 
essence  and  powers.  Hence  if  there  exists  no  part  of  it  in 
respect  to  the  gods,  the  whole  hypothesis  of  contrariety  (which 
has  been  put  forth)  is  completely  destroyed.  For  how  may 
that  which  is  absolutely  non-existent  (without  an  external 
substance)  have  any  conflict  in  itself?  By  vainly  conjectur- 
ing such  things,  so  absurd  and  unworthy  of  gods,  thou  bring- 
est  up  questions  which  may  not  reasonably  be  adduced  in  re- 
spect to  good  men.  For  no  man  possessing  intelligence  and 
undisturbed  by  passion — much  less  one  of  the  superior  races — 
would  ever  be  allured  by  the  exhalations  of  vapors  from  a 
sacrifice. 

These  things,  however,  will  be  made  the  topic  of  discourse 
a  little  later.  But  for  the  present  the  notion  of  contrariety 
of  nature,  having  been  controverted  by  many  refutations,  we 


SACRIFICES  191 

will   leave   off  reasoning  in   respect  to   the   first  topic   of 
discussion. 

CONCERNING  THE  SACRIFICES 

But  the  question  is  more  important,  and  relates  to  things 
of  greater  consequence.  How  will  I  be  able  to  answer  thee 
briefly  and  fully  what  is  difficult  and  requires  a  long  explana- 
tion? I  will  attempt  to  reply,  nevertheless,  and  will  not  be 
backward  in  zeal  for  promptness.  I  will  also  endeavor  to 
follow  the  points  which  thou  hast  concisely  indicated  and  go 
onward  to  some  of  special  significance. 

I  will  accordingly  set  forth  to  thee,  so  far  as  I  may,  the 
dogma  Concerning  Sacrifices;  that  it  is  by  no  means  to  offer 
them  for  the  sake  of  honor  along  in  the  same  way  that  we 
honor  benefactors;  nor  for  the  sake  of  grateful  acknowledg- 
ing of  benefits  which  the  gods  have  bestowed  upon  us ;  nor  yet 
as  a  first-fruit  or  gift  by  way  of  recompense  for  older  gifts 
which  the  gods  have  made  to  us.  For  these  are  things  common 
also  to  mankind,  and  are  likewise  received  from  the  common 
administration ;  but  they  by  no  means  establish  beyond  ques- 
tion the  supremacy  of  the  gods  and  their  rank  as  specific 
causes. 

EFFICACY  OF  SACRIFICES  ON  SACRED  RITES 

That,  however,  which  is  of  the  greatest  importance  should 
now  be  considered.  I  mean,  the  efficacy  of  the  Sacrifices,  why 
they  effect  so  much.  But  for  them  there  would  come  neither 
cessations  from  pestilence,  nor  from  famines,  nor  from  un- 
productive seasons;  neither  would  there  be  showers  of  rain, 
nor  the  things  which  are  more  precious  than  these,  such  as 
conduce  to  purification  of  the  soul,  or  to  perfection,*  or  to 


*The  Magians  and  Theurgic  priests  entertained  the  notion  that  it 
was  not  in  reason  for  the  soul  to  be  made  pure  by  corporeal  sacrifices, 
but  Porphyry  is  said  to  have  conceded  that  the  inferior  part  of  the  soul, 
the  "mortal  sou], ' '  might  be  thereby  purified  to  a  certain  degree,  though 
not  sufficiently  for  it  to  attain  immortality.  The  "teleosis"  here 
spoken  of  was  understood  by  Proklos  to  consist  in  the  union  of  the  soul 
to  the  Divine  Father,  by  means  of  the  "perfective  rite"  or  initiation : 
but  Porphyry  affirmed,  as  Augustine  declared,  that  those  who  were  thus 
purified,  did  not  return  to  the  Father  or  Supreme  Divinity,  but  dwelt 
above  the  aerial  region  among  the  gods  of  the  aether. 


192  ONE  LIFE   EVERYWHERE 

liberation  from  the  conditions  of  generated  existence.  Indeed, 
such  modes  of  sacrificing  do  not  exhibit  these  results  at  all. 
Hence,  therefore,  as  they  do  not  set  forth  properly  in  these 
rites  the  divine  cause  of  the  performances,  we  cannot  justly 
approve  of  them.  But  if  they  are  to  be  approved  at  all,  it 
will  be  only  after  a  secondary  manner  and  as  being  dependent 
upon  the  primary  and  most  ancient  divine  causes. 

THE  DIVINITIES  SUPERIOR  TO  THE  REALM  OF  NATURE 

The  matter  under  consideration  requires,  therefore,  that 
we  shall  set  forth  the  principle  according  to  which  the  sacri- 
fices are  adapted  to  the  events,  and  have  relation  to  the  gods 
that  are  the  causes  precedent  to  the  things  that  take  place. 
Suppose,  then,  we  may  say  that  by  having  one  life  everywhere, 
the  same  in  the  whole  universe  as  in  a  single  living  being,  there 
is  a  participation  of  similar  forces,  or  a  repulsion  of  opposing 
ones,  or  a  certain  affinity  of  the  active  to  the  passive,  which 
moves  the  things  that  are  similar  and  in  affinity  at  the  same 
time,  operating  in  them  in  like  manner  by  one  common  sym- 
pathy and  existing  in  the  most  distant  as  in  the  nearest.  There 
is  then  something  thus  stated  of  things  that  are  true,  and 
that  of  necessity  belong  with  the  sacrifices.  Yet  the  true  pur- 
pose of  the  sacrifices  is  not  thereby  shown.  For  the  essence 
of  the  gods  is  in  no  way  dependent  upon  the  realm  of  nature 
and  upon  natural  necessities,  so  as  to  be  aroused  by  natural 
passions  or  by  the  forces  which  extend  through  all  the  realm 
of  nature.  On  the  other  hand  it  is  established  by  itself  out- 
side of  these,  having  nothing  in  common  with  them — neither 
according  to  essence,  nor  according  to  power,  nor  according  to 
any  other  thing  whatever. 


XII 

NOTIONS   OF  THE   EGYPTIAN   PRIESTS 
CRITICIZED 


CHAPTER  XII 

NOTIONS  OF  THE  EGYPTIAN  PRIESTS  CRITICIZED 

The  same  absurdities  occur,  however,  if  any  of  these  things 
are  considered  as  causes  of  what  is  effected  at  the  Sacred 
Rites,  namely :  Certain  numbers  that  are  still  regarded  among 
us,  as  in  regard  to  the  crocodile,  sixty  as  akin  to  the  Sun;* 
or  terms  expressive  of  natural  objects,  as  the  powers  and 
energies  of  animals,  such  as  the  dog,  the  baboon,  the  field- 
mouse,  which  are  assigned  to  the  Moon,f  or  material  forms, 
such  as  are  beheld  in  the  sacred  animals,  according  to  the 


*The  Pythagoreans,  who  are  supposed  to  have  adopted  their  principal 
philosophic  notions  from  Egypt,  attached  special  honor  to  certain  num- 
bers and  geometric  figures.  Plutarch  affirms  that  they  designated  these 
as  divinities,  calling  the  equilateral  triangle  Athena  or  Wisdom;  the 
unit,  Apollo,  as  denoting  "not  many"  (a-pollon) ;  the  duad  or  two, 
courage  and  conflict;  the  triad,  justice;  and  the  four,  the  universe;  and 
also  thirty-six  as  being  the  sum  of  the  first  four  odd  and  the  first  four 
even  numbers  (36).  The  crocodile  was  described  as  producing  sixty  eggs 
and  occupying  sixty  days  in  their  hatching.  It  was  venerated  anciently 
in  the  country  of  the  Fayum  in  Middle  Egypt,  and  was  the  Symbol  of  Ra, 
the  Sun-God,  and  also  of  Osiris,  as  the  Sun-God  of  Amenti,  the  region 
of  the  dead. 

fThe  goddess  Isis,  the  sister  and  consort  of  Osiris,  the  Egyptian 
Bacchus,  was  sometimes  considered  to  represent  the  Moon.  When  seek- 
ing for  the  body  of  her  murdered  husband,  a  dog  was  said  to  have  accom- 
panied her.  A  dog  is  also  included  in  the  Parsi  ceremonies.  Anubis,  who 
was  symbolized  by  the  dog  and  the  dog-headed  baboon,  was  always  com- 
memorated in  the  Secret  Rites.  The  male  baboon  is  melancholy  when 
the  moon  is  hidden,  and  the  female  exhibits  peculiarities  common  to 
women. 

195 


196  THE    EGYPTIAN    MYSTERIES 

colors  and  shapes  of  the  body  ;*  or  some  other  of  the  animals 
in  relation  to  their  bodies,  or  whatever  else  may  be  brought 
into  notice;  or  an  organ,  like  the  heart  of  the  cock,t  or  other 
things  of  similar  character,  which  are  regarded  in  respect  to 
the  world  of  nature  as  causes  of  successful  results  in  the 
Sacrifices.  For  not  one  of  the  gods  is  shown  from  these  things 
to  be  the  cause  beyond  the  realm  of  nature ;  nor  is  he  as  such 
set  in  activity  by  the  sacrifices.  But  as  a  natural  cause  held 
fast  by  matter  and  physically  encompassed  by  the  bodies  it 
is  aroused  by  them,  and  put  to  rest  again.  Indeed,  these 
things  are  essentials  in  the  region  of  nature.  If,  then,  any- 
thing of  such  a  character  is  at  the  Sacred  Rites,  it  accom- 
panies them  as  a  joint  cause  and  as  having  the  consideration 
of  being  indispensable,  and  in  this  way  it  is  allied  to  the 
anterior  causes. 

THREE  GRADES  OP  ARCHETYPES 

It  is  better,  therefore,  to  assign  as  the  cause  of  efficacy 
an  attraction  and  affinity,  and  likewise  an  inter-relation  such 
as  allies  workmen  to  the  things  which  they  have  wrought  and 
parents  to  offspring.  When,  therefore,  this  common  prin- 
ciple being  the  anterior  cause,  we  take  some  animal  or  thing 
growing  upon  the  earth  that  has  preserved  the  purpose  of 
the  Creator  intact  and  pure,  then  through  such  an  object,  we 


*  Sacred  animals  were  numerous  in  Egypt,  every  nome  or  district 
having  its  own.  The  bulls  Apis  and  Men  were  selected  for  their  color 
and  peculiarities  of  body.  There  were  also  the  sacred  bat,  ram,  cat,  river- 
horse,  wolf,  serpent,  hawk,  ibis,  etc.  They  were  considered  as  repre- 
senting qualities  indicative  of  soul,  emotion  and  moral  sense,  qualities 
produced  by  nature  and  Divinity.  "We  worship  God  through  them," 
says  Plutarch. 

f  The  cock  was  anciently  venerated  in  many  countries  as  sacred  to  the 
Sun  and  at  the  sacrifices  it  was  customary  for  the  divines  to  inspect  his 
heart  for  auguries.  Porphyry  has  recorded  similar  facts  in  relation  to 
the  heart  of  the  crow,  the  mole  and  the  hawk.  Indeed,  every  ancient 
people  had  its  sacred  bird.  The  eagle  and  the  cock  seem  to  have  continued 
to  modern  time,  and  even  with  peoples  where  the  primitive  mystic  pur- 
port is  not  known. 


THE    PERFECT    SACRIFICE  197 

deal  familiarly  with  the  Demiurgic  Cause  which  is  over  it 
unmingled  with  anything  else. 

These  causes  (or  categories),  however,  are  numerous. 
Some  of  them,  as,  for  example,  the  demonian,  are  closely 
joined  together ;  and  others,  for  instance  the  divine,  are  ranked 
after  a  manner  higher  than  these ;  and  then  still  beyond  there 
is  their  Leader,  the  One  Most  Ancient  Cause.  All  the  cate- 
gories act  together  at  the  perfect  Sacrifice.*  Every  one 
is  adapted  to  it  generally  according  to  the  rank  which  is 
possessed. 

If,  however,  any  sacrifice  chances  to  be  defective,  it  goes 
forward  to  a  certain  extent,  but  it  is  not  possible  to  go  still 
further.  Hence  many  think  that  sacrifices  are  to  be  presented 
to  the  beneficent  demons;  many  to  the  final  powers  of  the 
gods;  and  many  to  the  pericosmian  or  to  the  terrestrial! 
powers  of  demons  or  of  divinities.  These  things,  being  a  part 
in  regard  to  the  sacrifices,  are  not  told  guilefully,  but  they 
by  no  means  afford  us  a  view  of  the  whole  of  the  virtue  of 
the  rite  and  all  the  benefits  and  the  divineness  which  extends 
through  all. 

DEMONS  AND  NOT  GODS   INFLUENCED  BY  SACRIFICES 

We  admit,  then,  all  these  statements. £  We  say  that  the 
beings  that  belong  to  the  realm  of  nature  act  in  concert  to- 
gether according  to  convenience,  or  sympathy,  or  antipathy; 


♦This  appears  to  be  a  conceding  that  the  Supreme  Divinity  is  influ- 
enced by  these  sacrifices  and  similarly  by  the  Magian  Rites.  This,  how- 
ever, many  of  the  Platonists,  as  well  as  the  Aristotelians,  Stoics  and 
Epikureans,  strenuously  denied. 

fThe  term  "powers"  is  used  by  Abammon  in  the  Aristotelian  sense, 
denoting  inherent  faculties  as  prior  to  the  exercise  of  force  and  the  pro- 
ducing of  effects. 

\  Our  author  here  refers,  as  will  be  observed,  to  the  declarations  of 
Porphyry,  which  are  quoted  in  the  First  Chapter,  but  are  not  found  in 
the  present  text  of  the  Letter  to  the  Expounder  Anebo.  Porphyry  had 
questioned  the  utility  and  actual  effect  of  the  sacrificial  rites  upon  the 
general  order  of  the  universe  and  the  purposes  of  the  gods,  and  likewise 
whether  they  were  performed  in  a  proper  manner  as  related  to  the  gods, 
or  really  procured  any  advantage  to  the  worshipers  themselves. 


198  BENEFITS    GIVEN    WILLINGLY 

and  in  other  respects  are  subject  and  follow  and  are  sub- 
servient to  the  superior  being,  and  cause  of  the  efficacy  of 
sacrifices.  But  the  demons,  and  also  the  terrestrial  and  peri- 
cosmian  powers  as  being  principals,  are  associated  together 
according  to  rank  as  is  the  case  with  us.  Nevertheless,  the 
most  effective  highest-ranking  of  the  causes  of  efficacy  in 
the  sacrifices  are  united  with  the  Demiurgic  and  absolutely 
perfect  powers. 

But  since  these  comprehend  themselves  all  the  causes, 
however  many  they  are,  we  affirm  that  all  the  active  operators 
are  moved  together  with  these  causes  at  the  same  moment; 
and  that  from  them  all  there  descends  a  common  beneficial 
influence  into  the  whole  realm  of  generated  existence.  Some- 
times this  help  is  imparted  according  to  cities  and  districts, 
or  to  various  nations,  or  to  greater  or  smaller  divisions  of 
these.  At  other  times,  the  benefits  are  given  with  an  un- 
grudging willingness  to  households,  or  to  every  individual, 
and  the  distribution  of  them  is  made  freely  and  without  feel- 
ing; and  with  an  unimpassioned  mind  according  to  relation- 
ship and  affiliation,  as  it  is  right  and  proper  to  give ;  one  af- 
fection meanwhile  holding  all  together  and  forming  this  bond 
through  an  unutterable  communion. 

These  things  are  much  more  true,  and  happen  to  be  more 
correct  in  relation  to  the  essence  and  power  of  the  gods,  than 
what  thou  dost  conjecture,  namely:  "that  they  themselves  are 
allured  most  of  all  by  the  fames  of  the  sacrifices  of  animals." 
For  if  there  is  in  any  sense  a  body  to  the  demons  which  some 
imagine  to  be  nourished  from  the  sacrifices,  this  body  must 
be  unchangeable  and  impassive,  and  likewise  luminous  and 
in  want  of  nothing.  Hence  there  is  neither  need  for  any- 
thing to  flow  from  it  nor  of  an  inflow  from  without.  If, 
however,  any  one  remains  still  of  opinion  that  this  is  the  case, 
yet  the  world  and  the  atmosphere  in  it  have  an  incessant 
exhalation  from  the  region  about  the  earth.  What  need,  then, 
have  they  of  the  sacrifices?* 


*It  was  held  that  these  sacrifices  to  the  demons  were  more  acceptable 
than  exhalations  from  other  things,  because  that  in  the  fumes  there  were 


EQUALITY    AND    UNIFORM    CONDITION  199 

On  the  other  hand,  the  substances  which  are  thus  received 
do  not  supply  to  an  equivalent  amount  in  proportion  to  the 
deficiency  created  by  what  has  been  cast  forth,  so  that  neither 
an  excess  may  predominate  nor  a  deficiency  occur,  but  that 
there  shall  exist  in  like  manner  in  every  way,  equality  and  a 
uniform  condition  of  the  bodies  of  the  demons.  For  the 
Creator  (Demiurgos)  does  not  by  any  means  set  food  abun- 
dant and  in  reach  for  all  living  things  in  the  earth  and  sea, 
but  has  implanted  want  of  the  same  in  the  races  superior 
to  us.  Nor  has  he  furnished  to  the  other  living  things  a 
natural  abundance  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  But  to  the 
demons  he  gives  food  of  a  quality  adapted  to  their  nature, 
which  is  contributed  by  us  human  beings.  Hence,  if  we, 
through  laziness  or  some  other  pretext,  as  is  likely,  should 
neglect  such  contributions,  the  bodies  of  the  demons  will  be 
in  want  of  food,  and  will  experience  both  privation  and 
disorder.* 

Why,  then,  do  not  they  who  make  these  assertions  over- 
turn the  whole  order  of  things  so  as  to  establish  us  in  a  better 
and  more  powerful  arrangement1?  For  if  they  make  us  agents 
to  supply  nourishment  to  the  demons,  we  shall  be  of  a  cate- 
gory superior  to  the  demons.  For  every  thing  receives  food 
and  what  it  requires  from  the  source  by  which  it  came  into 
existence.  This  may  be  seen  in  the  visible  world  of  created 
beings,  and  it  is  also  perceivable  in  the  universal  order.  For 
they  who  are  living  upon  the  earth  are  nourished  from  the 
celestial  regions.     But  it  becomes  more  distinctly  manifest 

more  vivid  traces  of  the  living  soul,  and  so  a  greater  relationship.  Hence 
in  invocations  to  the  demons  and  to  the  manes  or  shades  of  the  dead, 
victims  were  immolated  in  order  that  a  nourishing  exhalation  might  be 
obtained  from  the  flowing  blood.    See  Odyssey,  Book  XL 

*  Plato,  in  the  Timceos,  treats  of  junior  divinities,  whose  bodies  were 
derived  from  the  elements,  and  were  to  be  dissolved.  Proklos  also  de- 
scribes the  gods  of  the  cosmian  univeree  as  both  of  indissoluble  nature 
and  such  as  are  to  be  dissolved.  Plutarch  and  Hesiod  describes  demons 
as  a  distant  race  from  the  gods,  and  as  the  inspirers  of  oracles,  but  as 
actually  moral.  If  they  commit  any  fault  they  are  thrust  down  to  earth, 
fall  into  the  sphere  of  generated  existence,  and  are  fastened  to  human 
bodies. 


200  LUMINOUS    AND    TENUOUS    BODIES- 

with  the  invisible  causes.  For  soul  is  sustained  from  mind, 
and  physical  nature  from  soul;  and  other  things  are  also 
nourished  in  like  manner  from  their  originators. 

If,  then,  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  be  the  ones  who  brought 
the  demons  into  existence,  by  the  same  reasoning  it  is  demon- 
strated that  we  are  not  the  sources  from  which  they  derive 
their  support. 

HOW   SACRIFICES   ARE   BENEFICIAL, 

It  seems  to  me,  moreover,  that  the  question  now  being  con- 
sidered goes  astray  in  another  particular.  For  it  ignores 
the  bringing  of  the  sacrifices  through  fire,  as  it  is  rather  a 
consuming  and  destroying  of  the  matter  of  which  they  con- 
sist, and  likewise  an  assimilating  of  it  to  itself,  while  in  no 
sense  does  it  become  itself  assimilated  to  the  matter.  It  is 
also  a  bringing  upward  to  the  divine,  celestial  and  non- 
material  fire,  but  by  no  means  a  moving  downward  to  the 
region  of  matter  and  generated  existence.  For  if  the  enjoy- 
ing of  the  fumes  of  matter  in  the  sacrifices  "allured"  the 
Superior  races,  it  is  proper  that  the  matter  shall  be  pure 
from  contamination,  for  in  this  way  there  will  be  a  greater 
exhalation  from  it  to  those  that  partake.  Now,  however,  all 
is  burned  and  utterly  consumed,  and  is  changed  into  the  pure 
and  tenuous  substance  of  fire,  which  is  itself  clear  proof  to 
the  contrary  to  what  thou  amrmest.  For  the  superior  races 
are  impassive  and  it  is  a  delight  to  them  to  extirpate  the 
matter  by  means  of  the  fire  and  to  render  us  impassive.  The 
characteristics  in  us  become  like  the  gods  in  the  same  manner 
as  fire  transforms  all  hard  and  refractory  materials  to  lumi- 
nant  and  tenuous  bodies.*  They  likewise  lead  us  upward, 
by  the  sacrifices  and  sacrificial  fire  to  the  fire  of  the  gods  in 


♦Marsilio  Ficino,  the  Italian  Platonist,  remarks  that  the  fire  which 
is  kindled  by  us  is  more  like  heaven  than  like  what  is  left  behind.  It  is 
made  participant  of  light,  which  is  a  something  incorporeal,  the  most 
powerful  of  all  things,  and  as  if  alive,  perpetually  moving,  dividing  every- 
thing, yet  not  itself  divisible,  absorbing  all  things  into  itself,  yet  evading 
every  alien  mixture ;  and  suddenly,  when  it  is  fully  set  free,  flying  back  to 
the  celestial  fire  which  is  latent  everywhere. 


FIRE    PUEIFIES    MATTER  201 

the  same  way  that  fire  rises  to  fire,  by  leading  and  drawing 
upward  those  qualities  which  drag  downward  and  are  opposed 
to  the  divine  and  celestial  essences. 


SACRIFICIAL  FIRE  A  PURIFIER 

To  speak  without  disguise,  it  is  neither  from  the  matter 
of  which  the  sacrifices  consist,  nor  from  the  elements,  nor 
from  any  other  of  the  bodies  known  to  us,  that  the  demons 
have  the  vehicle  serving  as  bodies  and  resembling  them.* 
What  fruition,  then,  can  ever  take  place  from  an  essence  of 
one  kind  to  a  different  one,  or  what  enjoyment  can  be  im- 
parted by  alien  natures  to  those  that  are  alien  to  them? 
There  is  none,  but  rather  it  is  far  the  other  way.  As  the 
gods  cut  the  matter  away  with  the  electric  fire  and  separate 
from  it  whatever  things  are  non-material  in  their  essence, 
but  yet  are  held  firmly  and  fettered  by  it,  and  as  they  likewise 
evolve  impassive  natures  from  the  impassible — so  also  the 
fire  that  is  with  us,  imitating  the  operation  of  the  divine  fire, 
destroys  everything  in  the  sacrifices  that  is  constituted  of 
matter.  It  purifies  the  things  that  are  brought  to  the  fire, 
releases  them  from  their  bonds  in  matter,  and  likewise  renders 
them,  through  its  purity  of  nature,  fit  for  the  commonalty  of 
gods.  It  also,  through  these  changes,  releases  us  from  the 
bonds  of  generated  existence,  makes  us  like  the  gods,  and  like- 


*The  demons  may  be  described  as  having  vehicles  of  a  substance  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  bodies,  and  accorded  to  the  different  orders.  The 
demons  of  the  sky  are  described  as  having  such  vehicles  composed  not 
of  elementary  and  natural  principles,  but  those  of  the  water  and  earth 
were  so  endowed,  and  to  these  the  sacrifices  were  offered.  The  former 
were  of  the  number  not  nourished  from  the  fumes  of  the  sacrifices,  but  the 
latter  acquire  growth  from  external  sources.  Yet  as  the  vehicles  were 
not  derived  from  the  elements,  nor  from  bodies  known  to  us,  our  author 
would  have  done  a  favor  by  telling  whence  they  came.  This,  however, 
was  no  easy  thing  to  do,  if  modern  "materialization"  of  spiritual  beings 
seems  not  to  have  been  imagined.  Plato,  in  the  Timceos,  seems  to  regard 
the  vehicle  as  self-created,  or  the  production  of  the  "junior  gods." 


202  THE    RANKING    OF    THE    GODS 

wise  renders  us  fit  for  their  friendship,  and  our  material 
nature  near  to  the  non-material  essence.* 


THE  TRUE  CONCEPTS 

Having  thus  refuted  the  absurd  opinions  generally  in  re- 
gard to  Sacred  Rites,  we  will  introduce  in  their  place  the  true 
conceptions.  As  it  belongs  to  another  subject,  we  omit  the 
explanation  in  detail  in  respect  to  each  form  of  sacrifices 
which  the  peculiar  reason  in  respect  to  the  rites  requires. 
Nevertheless,  any  person  who  is  well  endowed  will  be  able, 
from  what  has  been  said,  to  extend  his  understanding  from 
one  subject  to  many,  and  cognize  quickly  from  these  the 
things  which  have  been  passed  over  in  silence.  I  think,  there- 
fore, that  these  things  have  been  sufficiently  explained,  in 
their  different  aspects,  and  because  our  explanation  sets  forth 
becomingly  the  pure  essence  and  quality  of  the  divine  beings. 
This,  however,  may  appear  equally  incredible  and  by  no  means 
clear,  and  likewise  suspicious  as  not  setting  the  reasoning 
faculty  at  work,  but  not  extending  to  the  discourses  upon  the 
Soul.  I  mean,  therefore,  to  go  over  these  things  a  little  more 
fully,  and  likewise,  if  possible,  to  bring  forward  proofs  more 
conclusive  than  those  which  have  been  already  examined. 


TWO  ORDERS  OP  DIVINITIES 

The  best  introduction  of  all  shows  plainly  the  institution 
of  Sacred  Rites  as  it  relates  to  the  ranking  of  the  gods.  At 
the  outset,  therefore,  we  may  lay  down  that  some  of  the  gods 
belong  to  the  realm  of  matter  and  others  are  beyond  it ;  those 
of  the  sphere  of  matter  encompassing  the  matter  in  them- 
selves, and  organizing  it,  and  the  non-material  divinities  being 


♦Proklos  remarks  of  the  Perfective  Discipline,  "that,  as  the  Oracles 
teach,  it  obliterates,  through  the  divine  fire,  all  the  stains  derived  from 
generated  existence."  The  Chaldean  Oracle  also  says :  "The  mortal  draw- 
ing near  the  sacrificial  fire  will  have  light  from  Divinity." 


WORSHIPING    DIVINITIES  203 

entirely  separate  from  matter  and  superior  to  it.*  In  the 
Sacerdotal  Technic,  it  is  necessary  for  the  Sacred  Rites  to 
be  begun  from  the  divinities  belonging  to  the  realm  of  matter, 
for  otherwise  there  would  be  no  going  upward  to  the  gods 
who  are  aloof  from  matter.  They  have  therefore  a  com- 
munion with  the  sphere  of  matter  in  so  far  as  they  are  placed 
over  it.  Hence  they  have  control  of  those  affairs  which  are 
permitted  in  relation  to  the  sphere  of  matter ;  as,  for  example, 
classification,  active  effort,  repulsion,  change,  the  generation 
and  decay  of  all  material  bodies. 

Suppose,  then,  any  one  should  wish  to  worship  divinities 
of  this  class  according  to  Theurgic  Rites,  in  a  manner  proper 
to  them  and  as  originally  allotted.  In  such  case,  as  they  are 
of  the  realm  of  matter,  the  attention  ought  to  be  given  to  a 
form  of  service  appropriate  to  that  realm.  For  in  this  way 
we  will  be  led  wholly  into  familiar  intimacy  with  them  all, 
and  will  bring  to  them  in  worship  what  is  appropriate  to  a 
kindred  race.  Hence  dead  bodies  and  creatures  deprived  of 
life,  and  likewise  the  slaughter  of  animals  and  consuming 
of  the  bodies, f  and  also  the  manifold  change,  decay  and  vicissi- 


*Proklos,  in  the  Commentary  upon  the  Alkibiades,  sets  forth  this 
classification,  calling  the  divinities,  the  absolute  and  the  cosmian  gods. 
The  Chaldean  Oracles  denominate  the  latter,  the  Synoches  or  Associated 
divinities.  Plato  has  also  called  them  Lesser  or  Junior  Gods.  Other 
writers  declare  that  these  divinities,  whose  ministry  is  about  the  earth 
and  human  affairs,  actually  belong  to  the  order  of  demons.  The  gods 
of  the  Mystic  Rites  are  accordingly  so  included. 

f  Porphyry  and  others  of  the  philosophers  of  that  period  declared  dis- 
tinctly that  the  sacrifices  of  living  creatures  were  not  for  the  gods  at 
all,  but  for  demons  and  the  lower  orders  of  spiritual  essences.  Indeed, 
their  sentiments  were  considered  as  evidence  of  a  hostility  to  Judaism. 
In  archaic  times,  and  even  in  many  centuries  of  the  historical  period, 
human  victims  were  immolated,  and  the  Hebrew  writings  seem  to  recog- 
nize the  custom  (Leviticus  xxvii,  28,  29;  Judges  xi,  30-40;  Micah  vi,  7). 
Plutarch  denounced  this  practice,  and  declared  his  belief  that  there  was 
never  a  god  that  required  it,  but  it  was  only  intended  to  avert  and  appease 
the  malice  and  rancor  of  evil  spirits.  The  slaughter  of  hogs  at  the  fes- 
tivals of  Adonis,  Osiris  and  Demites  seems  to  have  been  of  the  latter 
character,  as  swine  were  abhorred  in  Oriental  countries. 


204  SUBLIME    VISIONS 

tude  generally  which  befall  to  matter  pertain  to  the  gods; 
not  to  them  through  themselves,  but  through  the  realm  of 
matter  over  which  they  are  rulers.  For  although  they  are 
to  the  utmost  separated  from  it  they  are  nevertheless  present 
with  it ;  and  although  they  encompass  it  by  a  power  which  is 
not  of  matter,  they  exist  along  with  it.  The  things  that  are 
thus  conducted  are  not  alien  to  those  who  conduct  them,  nor 
are  those  that  are  put  in  order  foreign  to  those  who  put  them 
in  order,  and  those  likewise  that  are  subservient  are  not 
unadapted  to  those  that  make  use  of  them  as  instruments. 

Hence  the  offering  of  anything  belonging  to  the  realm  of 
matter  is  alien  and  repugnant  to  the  divinities  of  the  supra- 
material  world,  but  it  is  perfectly  proper  for  all  those  that 
are  allied  to  matter.* 


TWO  KINDS  OF  SACRED  RITES 

Let  us  next  consider  what  is  in  harmony  with  the  senti- 
ments which  have  been  uttered,  and  with  our  twofold  consti- 
tution. For  when  we  become  entirely  soul  and  are  outside 
of  the  body,  and  soaring  on  high  with  all  the  gods  of  the 
non-material  realm,  we  occupy  ourselves  with  sublime  visions. 
Then  again,  we  are  bound  in  the  oyster-like  body  and  held 
fast  under  the  dominion  of  matter,  and  are  corporeal  in  feel- 
ing and  aspiration.!  There  comes,  accordingly,  therefore,  a 
twofold  form  of  worship.  For  the  one  which  is  for  unstained 
souls  will  be  simple,  free  of  the  body  and  pure  from  every 
condition  of  generated  existence;  but  the  other,  which  is  ac- 
commodated to  souls  that  are  not  pure  and  liberated  from 


*Here  may  be  perceived  the  distinction  between  different  teachers. 
One  school  adopted  the  notion  that  the  body  being  constituted  of  matter, 
was  to  be  macerated  and  held  in  low  esteem.  Plato,  however,  in  Thecete- 
tos,  taught  that  we  escaped  from  evil  in  the  body  by  becoming  as  much  as 
possible  like  a  god.  This  was  to  be  accomplished  by  a  life  of  purity  and 
justice,  not  by  bodily  worship,  but  by  mental  and  moral  excellence. 

fThis  figure  is  borrowed  from  Plato,  and  we  find  it  eloquently  de- 
picted in  the  Phadros. 


SENSUOUS    WORSHIP  205 

the  conditions  of  generated  existence,  is  filled  with  corporeal 
things  and  everything  that  relates  to  the  world  of  matter.* 

I  admit  therefore  that  there  are  two  forms  of  Sacred 
Eites.  The  one,  those  for  individuals  who  are  entirely  puri- 
fied. Such  rarely  happen,  as  Herakleitos  affirms,  beyond  a 
single  person  at  one  time  or  a  few  that  may  be  easily  counted. 
The  other  class,  such  as  are  yet  held  by  the  body,  consists  of 
those  who  are  of  the  realm  of  matter  and  of  corporeal  quality, 
sustaining  themselves  through  change. t 

Hence,  unless  such  a  form  of  worship  shall  be  instituted 
for  cities  and  peoples  that  are  not  relieved  from  the  heredi- 
tary allotment,  J  and  that  hold  tenaciously  to  the  communion 
with  the  body,  they  will  fail  utterly  of  both  kinds  of  good, 
that  which  is  superior  to  the  realm  of  matter,  and  that  which 
is  of  the  world  of  matter.  For  the  former  they  are  unable 
to  receive,  and  to  the  latter  they  bring  nothing  of  kindred 
nature.  At  the  same  time  every  one  performs  his  service 
according  to  what  he  is,  and  certainly  not  with  reference  to 
what  he  is  not.  For  it  is  not  proper  for  it  to  exceed  the  wor- 
shipers' own  condition.  I  have  the  same  thing  to  say  also 
in  respect  to  the  intimate  union  which  joins  together  the 
men  who  are  worshiping  and  the  powers  that  are  worshiped 
as  members  of  a  family.  For  I  desire  the  same  unity,  that 
the  usage  of  religious  worship  which  is  homogeneous  with  it 
shall  be  chosen,  namely:  not  only  that  which  is  non-material 
being  commingled  in  the  manner  accordant  with  itself,  and 
joining  the  incorporeal  natures  in  a  pure  manner  with  them- 
selves, with  pure  incorporeal  powers,  but  also  uniting  the 
corporeal  natures  after  a  corporeal  manner  with  corporeal 


♦This  twofold  phase  of  religious  customs,  the  religion  of  the  right 
hand  and  that  of  the  left,  still  exists  with  the  worshipers  of  Siva  and 
the  Sakti  in  India.  It  was  exhibited  in  the  Orphic  and  Dionysiac  wor- 
ships of  Greece,  and  in  several  Oriental  Rites.  So  the  ascetic  and  the 
freer  religionist  were  alike  treated  according  to  their  respective  disposi- 
tions. 

f  In  other  words,  holding  to  no  stable  purpose,  and  exhibiting  some 
new  energy  at  every  new  phase  of  opinion  or  experience. 

J  They  were  considered  as  more  or  less  infested  by  evil  demons  whom 
it  was  necessary  to  placate. 


306  SACEED    CEREMONIES 

essences,  commingling  with  the  bodies  the  superior  essences 
that  pervade  them. 

WHY  WORSHIP  IS  OF  A  SENSUOUS  CHARACTER 

We  shall  not,  therefore,  think  it  unworthy  of  us  to  treat 
also  of  matters  of  such  a  lower  character.  Thus  in  respect  of 
the  needs  of  the  body,  we  often  perform  some  office  to  the  guar- 
dians of  the  corporeal  nature,  the  gods  and  good  demons ;  such 
as  purifying  it  from  old  stains,  or  freeing  it  of  diseases,  and 
making  it  abound  with  health,  or  taking  away  from  it  heavi- 
ness and  torpor,  and  imparting  to  it  lightness  and  activity 
instead — or  if  nothing  else,  procuring  for  it  all  manner  of 
benefits.  We  do  not,  therefore,  in  any  way  treat  it  as  though 
it  was  of  mental  quality  or  even  as  though  it  was  not  corpo- 
real. For  the  body  is  not  constituted  to  participate  in  such 
modes  of  proceeding.  But  when  it  participates  in  modes  of 
a  nature  corresponding  to  itself,  a  body  is  healed  and  puri- 
fied by  bodies.  From  necessity  of  such  a  kind,  therefore,  the 
institution  of  Sacred  Rites  will  be  of  a  corporeal  ideal;  on 
the  one  hand  pruning  away  what  is  superfluous  in  us,  and  on 
the  other  supplying  whatever  in  us  is  wanting,  and  also 
bringing  into  order  and  proportion  in  so  far  as  it  is  dis- 
ordered. We  often  make  use  of  sacred  ceremonies,  beseech- 
ing from  the  superior  races  that  they  do  for  us  many  things 
of  importance  to  the  human  life.  These,  doubtless,  are  the 
beings  that  take  care  of  the  body,  or  have  charge  of  those 
things  which  we  procure  for  the  sake  of  our  bodies.* 

SENSUOUS  WORSHIP  FURTHER  JUSTIFIED 

What,  then,  it  may  be  asked,  will  there  be  for  us  from 
the  gods  who  are  entirely  exempt  from  all  human  conditioned 
existence  in  respect  to  unfruitfulness  of  the  soil,  or  abun- 
dance, or  other  concern  of  life?  Nothing  whatever;  for  it  is 
not  the  province  of  those  beings  who  are  free  of  all  such 
things  to  touch  gifts  of  this  kind. 

*In  the  Egyptian  System  the  human  body  was  apportioned  into  thirty- 
six  regions,  each  of  which  was  supposed  to  be  in  charge  of  its  own  over- 
lord or  presiding  divinity,  and  had  its  class  of  physicians  at  the  differ- 
ent temples. 


"NATURE"  207 

But  suppose  it  is  affirmed  that  the  divinities  who  are  en- 
tirely beyond  the  realm  of  matter  encompass  those  of  the 
other  class,  and  when  they  encompass  them,  they  also  include 
their  gifts  in  themselves,  as  being  the  One  First  Cause.* 

It  may  also  be  asserted  that  abundance  of  the  divine 
bounty  comes  down  from  them.  But  it  must  be  allowed  to 
no  one  to  say  that  these  superior  divinities  who  perform 
these  things  come  in  close  contact  with  the  affairs  of  human 
life.  For  such  an  administration  of  things  here  is  capable 
of  division  into  departments,  and  is  exercised  with  a  certain 
degree  of  care;  it  is  likewise  by  no  means  wholly  separate 
from  bodies,  and  it  cannot  be  endowed  with  authority  entirely 
untarnished.  Does  not  the  mode  of  religious  worship  best 
suit  the  case  in  performance  of  this  kind,  which  is  mingled 
with  corporeal  matters  and  allied  to  generated  existence; 
and  not  that  which  is  wholly  apart  from  the  realm  of  matter 
and  from  concerns  of  the  body?  For  the  mode  that  is  thus 
pure  is  absolutely  above  us,  and  is  wholly  unsuitable ;  but  the 
one  that  makes  use  of  bodies  and  of  the  powers  that  operate 
by  means  of  bodies  is,  in  the  completest  sense  of  all,  espe- 
cially allied  to  us.  It  can  not  only  effect  successes  in  life,  but 
it  can  also  avert  imminent  misfortunes,  and  bring  harmony 
and  a  just  tempering  of  conditions  to  the  mortal  race. 

THE  THREE  CLASSES 

According  to  another  classification,  the  numerous  throng 
of  human  beings  is  arranged  under  the  head  of  "Nature." 
It  is  governed  by  the  powers  of  the  realm  of  Nature,  looks 
down  to  the  operations  of  Nature,  and  likewise  in  addition 


*  This  including  of  the  Superior  divinities  under  the  designation  of  One 
First  Cause,  will  seem  to  imply  that  they  were  considered  as  substantially 
one  godhead.  The  late  Prof.  Taylor  Lewis,  of  Union  College,  so  viewed 
the  matter.  It  will  be  observed  that  in  the  Hebrew  text  of  the  Bible,  the 
Supreme  Being  is  often  designated  by  a  plural  term:  "The  Lord  (Yava) 
our  Eloim  (Gods)  is  one."  There  is  abundant  evidence  that  the  ancient 
religious  systems  generally  recognized  but  one  Supreme  Divinity,  in 
which  all  minor  powers  and  essences  were  included  as  qualities  or  attri- 
butes. Yet  they  seem  also  to  have  been  often  regarded  as  distinct  per- 
sonalities. 


208  THE    LIFE    WHICH    IS    OF    THE    MIND 

makes  complete  the  jurisdiction  of  Fate,  submits  to  the  order 
of  things  to  be  accomplished  in  so  far  as  it  is  fated,  and  also 
employs  practical  reasoning  in  regard  to  things  that  belong 
alone  to  the  department  of  nature. 

A  certain  few,  however,  who  exercise  a  faculty  of  mind 
superior  to  nature,  are  exalted  beyond  that  class  and  ranked 
in  tke  order  of  separate  and  unalloyed  intelligence  as  being 
those  who  have  become  altogether  superior  to  the  powers  of 
the  realm  of  nature. 

Others,  however,  are  placed  between  these  as  interme- 
diaries between  the  department  of  nature  and  that  of  pure 
intelligence;  some  following  after  both  classes,  others  pur- 
suing a  life  commingled  from  the  two,  and  others  being  set 
free  from  the  inferior  classes  and  placed  with  the  more 
excellent.* 

These,  then,  having  been  thus  defined,  that  which  is  to 
accompany  them  becomes  especially  plain.  For  they  who  are 
governed  by  the  general  condition  of  things,  and  they  in 
particular  who  live  according  to  their  own  peculiar  natural 
disposition  and  make  use  of  their  natural  powers,  adopt  the 
religious  worship  that  is  proper  to  nature  and  to  bodies  made 
active  by  nature  ;f  making  choice  of  places,  atmosphere,  mat- 
ter and  powers  of  matter,  bodies  and  habitudes  of  bodies, 
qualities,  appropriate  dances,  changes  incident  to  generated 
existence,  and  other  things  congruous  with  these,  in  other  de- 
partments of  religious  worship,  and  in  the  department  which 
is  directly  connected  with  sacrificing. 


*Plotino8  has  also  described  these  classes  with  equal  distinctness.  All 
from  their  birth,  he  declares,  make  use  of  the  senses  before  they  have 
acquired  any  superior  perception.  He  adds  that,  "  Some  proceed  no  fur- 
ther, but  pass  through  life  considering  the  things  of  sense  to  be  the  first 
and  last  of  all;  and  as  they  apprehend  that  what  is  painful  is  evil,  and 
that  whatever  is  pleasant  is  good,  they  think  it  sufficient  to  pursue  the 
one  and  to  avoid  the  other.  Others  have  a  greater  share  of  intelligence, 
but  do  not  rise  above  the  earth.  Some  of  these  exhibit  greater  perception, 
but  not  superior  moral  excellence.  In  the  third  class  are  the  divine  ones 
who  acutely  perceive  supernal  light,  rise  superior  to  sense,  and  live  above 
the  world. 

fBy  "Nature"  some  understood  the  Great  Goddess,  others  simply  a 
demon,  others  the  Superior  Mind. 


THE    DIVINE    ESSENCES    AND    POWERS  209 

But  they  who  live  with  reference  to  mind  alone,  and  the 
life  which  is  of  the  mind,  and  who  are  free  of  the  bonds  of 
the  realm  of  nature,  exercise  diligently  in  the  spiritual  and 
incorporeal  law  of  the  Sacred  Art  relating  to  the  several 
departments  of  Theurgy. 

Those  who  are  intermediary  between  the  two  classes, 
pursue  assiduously  the  ways  of  holiness  in  different  manner, 
according  to  the  differences  between  them,  either  partici- 
pating in  both  these  modes  of  religious  devotion,  or  standing 
aloof  from  one  of  them,  or  accepting  them  as  a  foundation 
of  things  more  valuable.  For  without  these  they  may  never 
accomplish  the  higher  attainments.  In  some  other  way  per- 
haps they  may  take  them  in  hand  in  a  becoming  manner. 

THREE   CLASSES    OF   DIVINITIES 

In  respect,  however,  to  this  very  mode  of  distinction,  there 
is  brought  to  our  attention  the  following  classification  of  the 
divine  Essences  and  powers: 

1.  Some  have  a  soul  and  nature  subject  and  subservient 
to  their  creations,  in  whatever  way  they  will. 

2.  Others  are  entirely  separate  from  soul  and  nature.  I 
mean  from  the  divine  soul  and  nature  and  not  from  the  cosmic 
and  genetic  soul  and  nature  only. 

3.  Some,  however,  are  intermediaries  between  them,  and 
preserve  a  communion  from  each  to  each  other ;  either  by  an 
unsevered  bond  of  union,  or  by  a  generous  imparting  of 
superior  benefits  or  an  unchecked  reception  of  lesser  ones,  or 
by  the  harmony  of  mind  which  binds  both  together.* 

When,  therefore,  we  are  worshiping  the  gods  that  are 
kings  of  the  realms  of  soul  and  nature,  it  is  not  out  of  the 
way  to  present  to  them  natural  powers  and  bodies  that  are 
not  controlled  by  nature,  devoting  to  them  what  is  not  worth- 
less. For  all  the  operations  of  nature  are  subservient  to 
them  and  associated  with  them  in  the  administration  of  the 
world. 


*Mr.  Thomas  Taylor  classes  the  intermediary  divinities  as  archai  or 
rulers  (principalities,  Ephesians  vi,  12),  and  apolutoi  or  liberated;  the 
one  being  supercosmic  and  the  other  supercelestial,  or  superior  to  the 
visible  gods  in  the  sky. 


210  THE    HOLY   KITES 

But  when  we  are  paying  homage  to  these  gods  that  are 
uniform  in  respect  to  themselves,  it  is  proper  to  distinguish 
them  with  unlimited  honors.  Gifts  of  a  spiritual  character 
are  suited  to  them,  things  of  the  incorporeal  life,  and  likewise 
such  as  virtue  and  wisdom  bestow,  and  whatever  good  things 
of  the  soul  are  perfect  and  entire. 

And  moreover,  to  the  intermediary  divinities,  those  who 
lead  in  benefits  of  the  middle  class,  sometimes  gifts  of  a 
twofold  character  will  be  suitable,  and  sometimes  those  com- 
mon to  both  the  classes,  or  those  which  are  separate  from 
the  lower  orders  but  belong  to  the  higher;  or  to  sum  up  the 
whole  matter,  those  which  will  in  one  of  the  modes  be  amply 
sufficient  for  the  intermediate. 

THE  EXALTED  CONDITION  NOT  COMMON  TO  ALL 

Setting  out  from  another  original  principle:  that  of  the 
world  and  the  cosmian  divinities,  and  likewise  the  distribution 
of  the  four  elements  in  the  world,  the  apportioning  of  the 
elements  by  allotment  in  due  proportion,  and  their  circling 
revolution  in  orderly  arrangement  in  respect  to  centers,  we 
have  an  easy  path  to  the  true  conception  of  the  holy  rites  in 
respect  to  sacrifices.  Suppose  we  ourselves  are  in  the  world, 
and  are  included  as  parts  in  the  whole  universe,  that  we  are 
likewise  produced  by  it  at  first  and  brought  to  maturity  by 
all  the  forces  in  it,  and  also  that  we  are  constituted  from 
the  elements  in  it,  and  receive  from  it  a  certain  allotment  of 
life  and  nature.  "We  may  not,  on  account  of  these  things,  pass 
over  the  world  and  the  cosmian  arrangements.  We  must 
grant  accordingly  that  in  every  region  about  the  world  there 
is  this  body  which  we  observe,  and  there  are  also  the  in- 
corporeal classified  powers  around  the  bodies.  Hence  the 
law  of  religion,  it  is  plain,  assigns  like  things  to  like  and  ex- 
tends in  this  manner  through  the  universal  spaces  from  on 
high  to  the  last,  assigning  things  incorporeal  to  the  incorpo- 
real, and  things  corporeal  to  the  corporeal,  each  giving  to 
the  other  in  due  accord  with  their  peculiar  nature. 

But  when  one  of  the  theurgists  becomes  participant  with 
the  supernal  gods — which  is  the  rarest  occurrence  of  any — 


SUBLIME   ATTAINMENT  211 

that  individual,  he,  from  whatever  corner  he  may  come,  being 
united  to  the  gods  by  a  supernal  power,  is  superior  to  cor- 
poreal things  and  the  realm  of  matter,  as  respects  the  worship 
of  the  gods.  This  sublime  attainment  is  made  by  a  person 
with  difficulty  and  at  a  late  period  at  the  end  of  the  sacred 
experience.  It  is  not  proper,  therefore,  to  set  it  forth  as 
a  matter  common  to  everybody;  and  in  particular  it  should 
not  be  made  common  to  those  who  are  beginners  in  the 
theurgic  discipline,  nor  to  those  who  are  midway  in  it;  for 
these,  in  some  way  or  other,  bestow  attention  upon  sacred 
matters  as  if  it  were  a  matter  of  bodily  concern.* 

*Iamblichos,  in  the  "Life  of  Pythagoras,"  remarks  that  "He  who 
pours  clean  water  into  a  nraddy  well  does  but  disturb  the  mud."  In  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  Jesus  charges  the  disciples  not  to  give  the  holy 
truth  to  dogs,  nor  cast  pearls  before  the  swine;  for  the  latter  will  tread 
the  jewels  under  their  feet,  and  the  dogs  will  rend  the  uncautious  givers. 


XIII 
CONCERNING  THE  MYSTIC  RITES 


.     CHAPTER  XIII 

CONCERNING  THE  MYSTIC  RITES 

I  think,  therefore,  that  all  who  delight  in  the  spectacle  of 
Theurgic  reality*  will  acknowledge  this :  that  it  is  not  proper 
to  render  to  the  gods  partially  or  imperfectly  the  devotion 
which  is  rendered  to  them.  Thus,  therefore,  before  the  gods 
make  their  appearance  at  the  Rites,  all  the  powers  (potestates 
or  demons)  that  are  subject  to  them,  are  set  in  motion ;t  and 
when  the  gods  are  about  to  move  toward  the  earth,  they  come 
ahead  and  go  before  them  in  procession.  He,  therefore,  who 
does  not  bestow  on  all  of  them  what  he  should,  and  address 
every  one  according  to  the  honor  to  which  he  is  entitled,  is 


*The  spectacular  representations  exhibited  at  the  Sacred  Rites  to 
candidates  for  initiation  and  others  participating  in  the  worship. 

fThe  "powers"  are  here  distinctly  set  forth  as  spiritual  essences. 
Proklos  recognizes  them  as  belonging  to  the  order  of  demons,  and  in- 
forms us  that  there  is  an  innumerable  company  of  them  about  every  god, 
and  that  they  are  named  by  his  appellations,  as  though  they  were  them- 
selves the  divinity.  "In  the  most  holy  scenes  of  the  Initiatory  Kites," 
says  he,  "prior  to  the  manifestations  of  the  divinity  as  present,  troops 
of  chthonian  demons  make  their  appearance,  calling  the  attention  of  the 
candidates  from  things  pure  and  good  to  the  realm  of  Matter." 

I  am  reminded  of  the  "subject-spirits"  described  by  Emanuel  Sweden- 
borg.  If  one  of  them  is  imagined  by  the  individual  with  whom  it  is 
communicating,  to  be  some  particular  person,  then  the  spirit,  as  if  mes- 
merized, immediately  supposes  itself  to  be  that  person. — A.  W. 

215 


216  THE    CEREMONIAL 

made  to  go  away  uninitiated  and  disappointed  of  the  par- 
ticipation with  the  gods.  But  he  who  propitiates  them  all, 
bringing  to  every  one  the  gifts  in  his  power  that  are  most 
suitable  and  acceptable,  always  remains  safe  and  without 
blame,  having  well  and  most  carefully  accomplished  the  recep- 
tion of  the  divine  chorus.* 

Since,  therefore,  this  is  the  case,  which  of  the  two  is 
proper:  that  the  ceremonial  of  the  Sacred  Rite  shall  be  sim- 
ple and  consisting  of  a  few  particulars,  or  elaborate  and 
adapted  to  every  move — or,  so  to  speak,  as  if  from  everything 
in  the  world  mingled  together?  If,  indeed,  the  power  that 
is  invoked  and  influenced  by  the  Sacred  Rite  were  simple  and 
of  one  order  alone,  the  ceremonial  of  the  sacrifices  would  be 
of  necessity  also  simple.  But  suppose  the  multitude  of  other 
powers  (demons  and  minor  spiritual  beings)  that  are  aroused 
and  set  in  motion  at  the  descending  of  the  gods  can  be  in- 
cluded in  no  simple  rite.  The  theurgists,  from  being  expe- 
rienced in  the  performances,  are  the  only  ones  that  know 
these  things  accurately,  and  they  alone  are  able  to  cognize 
what  constitutes  the  perfect  celebration  of  the  Sacred  Cere- 
mony. They  are  also  aware  that  the  omissions,  though  few, 
defeat  the  whole  performance  of  the  Sacred  Rite,  just  as 
when  in  a  harmony  a  single  chord  is  broken,  the  whole  be- 
comes out  of  tune  and  discordant.! 

As  therefore,  in  the  divine  descents  which  are  visible  there 


*The  primitive  conception  of  sacrifices  was  that  they  afforded  re- 
freshment to  spiritual  beings;  as  for  example,  the  deceased  member  of 
a  family.  Such  offerings  are  made  at  stated  periods  in  China  and 
India  and  were  once  universal.  Demons  and  embodied  souls  were  also 
considered  as  thus  receiving  service  and  delight,  and  it  was  to  them  that 
the  sacrifices  were  actually  devoted.  (1  Corinthians  x,  20.)  Hence, 
sacrifices  became  festivals  to  which  friends  were  invited,  and  the  princi- 
pal viands  were  consecrated  by  invoking  the  divinities.  See  1  Samuel  ix, 
12,  13-21,  23,  and  Malachi  i,  12. 

t"In  the  Divine  Dramas  or  Discourses,"  says  Simplikios,  "if  any- 
thing is  omitted,  or  is  displaced,  or  comes  up  afterward,  the  divine  illu- 
mination does  not  take  place,  but  the  remissness  of  the  one  who  is  doing 
this  makes  vapid  the  power  of  what  has  been  accomplished." 


PROPITIATION  217 

occurs  manifest  injury  to  those  who  leave  any  of  the  superior 
beings  unhonored,*  so  likewise  when  they  are  present  at  the 
sacrifices  unseen  it  is  not  well  to  honor  one  and  not  another, 
but  instead  every  one  should  be  honored  according  to  the 
order  to  which  he  is  allotted.  He  who  leaves  any  of  them 
without  a  gift  holds  the  whole  thing  fast  and  destroys  the 
one  and  entire  arrangement.  He  does  not,  as  some  may  there- 
fore imagine,  make  the  reception  an  imperfect  one,  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  he  absolutely  overturns  the  whole  purpose  of 
the  Sacred  Bite. 

SACRED    RITES    MULTIFORM 

What  then  ?  Does  not  the  highest  part  of  the  Sacred  Tech- 
nic  recur  of  itself  to  the  One  Supreme  above  the  whole  multi- 
tude of  divinities,  and  yet  at  the  same  time  worship  in  him 
the  many  essences  and  principalities? 

Certainly,  I  may  be  answered,  but  this  takes  place  at  a 
very  late  period,  and  only  with  the  exceedingly  few ;  and  if  it 
comes  at  the  very  sunset  of  life,  they  are  content.  Our  pres- 
ent discussion,  however,  does  not  set  forth  the  law  for  a  man 
of  such  character,  for  he  is  superior  to  all  law;t  but  it  estab- 
lishes such  a  system  of  law  for  those  who  are  in  need  of 
superior  legislation.!    It  says  accordingly,  that  as  the  universe 


♦iEneus,  the  king  of  Kalydon,  it  was  fabled,  once  celebrated  a  sacri- 
fice at  which  he  omitted  to  honor  the  goddess  Artemis.  She  by  way  of 
punishment  sent  a  boar  to  ravage  his  dominions. 

fThis  declaration  is  sustained  by  the  Apostle  Paul.  "If  you  are  led 
by  the  spirit  of  noetic  faculty,"  says  he,  "you  are  not  under  law."  The 
Greek  term  here  used  by  both  writers  is  nomos,  an  enactment,  and  not 
thesmos,  a  sacred  decree.  Plotinos  has  explained  this  mental  exaltation 
here  affirmed.  "We  receive  the  Infinite  by  a  faculty  superior  to  the  un- 
derstanding," he  inculcates;  "we  enter  into  a  condition  of  mind  in, 
which  we  are  no  longer  our  own  selves,  but  become  partakers  of  the 
divine  nature."  The  philosopher,  it  is  recorded,  has  attained  this  mental 
and  moral  exaltation.  Its  similarity  to  the  state  of  Yogi  or  consecra- 
tion, described  by  Indian  sages,  is  evident. 

JSyrianos,  and  Taylor  following  him,  have  substituted  thesmos  for 
thtnnos  in  the  Greek  text.  The  phrase  otherwise  would  have  read:  "for 
those  who  are  bound  by  passion." 


218  BENEFITS 

is  a  system  from  many  orders  combined  into  one,  so  it  is 
proper  that  the  complete  ceremonial  of  the  Sacred  Rites,  un- 
ceasing and  entire,  shall  be  joined  with  the  whole  category  of 
the  superior  races.  Certainly,  indeed,  if  the  cosmos  is  mani- 
fold and  entire,  and  is  constituted  in  many  orders,  it  is  proper 
accordingly  that  the  Sacred  Performance  shall  copy  its  various 
features,  because  of  all  the  powers  which  they  present  to 
view.*  Hence,  in  relation  to  these  and  to  the  various  kinds 
that  are  about  us,  it  is  not  proper  for  us  to  be  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  divine  causes  (or  beings)  that  are  over  them, 
from  a  part  of  the  qualities  in  them.  On  the  contrary,  we 
should  not  aspire  to  be  with  their  leaders,  when  anything  on 
our  part  is  omitted  or  incomplete. 

THE   BENEFITS   FROM   THE   SACRIFICES 

The  diversified  mode  of  celebrating  the  Holy  Rite  in  the 
Sacred  Performances,  therefore,  not  only  purifies  us,  but  it 
also  makes  perfect  something  of  the  defects  in  us  or  about  us, 
establishes  in  harmony  and  order,  and  otherwise  delivers  us 
from  faults  of  deadly  character.!  It  likewise  brings  all  into 
familiar  relations  with  the  races  superior  to  us.  And,  cer- 
tainly, when  the  divine  causes  and  the  human  adaptations 
closely  resembling  them  meet  together  to  the  same  end,  the 
initiation  or  Perfective  Rite  assures  every  full  and  ample 
benefit  of  the  sacrifice. 

It  will  not  be  amiss,  however,  to  add  such  particulars  as 
the  following  in  order  to  give  an  accurate  understanding  in 
respect  to  these  things.  The  divinities  of  the  highest  order 
have  always  a  superabundance  of  power,  and  while  it  is  supe- 


*"Keligion  is  the  imitating  of  what  you  worship." 

f Expositors  interpret  these  statements  as  setting  forth  that  the  Sac- 
rifices were  expiatory  or  purifying  in  the  way  of  averting  diseases  and 
other  impurities,  as  seems  to  be  signified  by  the  establishing  in  harmony 
and  order.  In  the  sixteenth  chapter  the  benefits  of  the  Initiatory  Rites 
are  substantially  classed  under  three  heads,  which  have  been  denominated 
astrologic,  iatric  or  curative,  and  telestic  or  perfective.  The  initiatory 
or  Perfect  Rite,  it  was  considered,  exalted  the  candidate  beyond  the 
sphere  of  generated  existence,  as  in  the  maksha  or  nirvana  of  the  Bud- 
hists. 


PARTICIPATION"  219 

rior  to  all  it  is  at  the  same  time  present  with  them  all  equally 
without  impediment.  In  conformity  with  this  statement, 
therefore,  the  very  first  illuminate  the  last,  and  those  who 
are  superior  to  matter  are  present  with  those  belonging  with 
matter,  but  not  after  the  manner  of  the  world  of  matter. 

Let  no  one  be  surprised  even  though  we  say  that  there  is 
a  certain  matter  that  is  pure  and  divine.  For  it  originates 
from  the  Father  and  Demiurgos  of  the  universe  and  pos- 
sesses a  completeness  of  its  own  suitable  for  a  receptacle  of 
gods.  At  the  same  time  nothing  obstructs  the  superior  races 
from  being  able  to  illuminate  the  lower  orders  from  their  own 
substance.  Nor  does  anything  hold  matter  back  from  partici- 
pating of  the  superior  natures.  So  far  as  it  is  perfect,  pure 
and  evidently  good  it  is  not  an  unsuitable  receptacle  of  the 
gods.*  For  as  it  is  necessary  that  the  races  in  the  earth  shall 
be  in  no  respect  deprived  of  a  divine  participation,  the  earth 
also  receives  a  divine  portion  from  it,  which  is  sufficient  to 
admit  the  gods. 

The  Theurgic  discipline,  therefore,  recognizing  these  things 
and  thus  discovering  in  common  with  others  the  suitable  re- 
ceptacles of  the  gods  according  to  the  individual  peculiarity 
of  each,  often  joins  together  stones,  plants,  animals,  and 
sacred  aromatics,  perfect  and  godlike,  and  afterward  forms 
from  all  these  a  receptacle  complete  and  pure.  For  it  is  not 
proper  to  be  dissatisfied  with  everything  material,  but  only 
with  that  which  is  repugnant  to  the  gods.  But  that  particular 
matter  is  to  be  chosen  which  is  akin  to  them  as  capable  of  being 
in  accord  both  in  building  the  houses  of  the  gods,  in  the  setting 
up  of  carved  images,  and,  in  fine,  in  the  sacred  ceremonial  of 
sacrifices.  For  in  no  other  manner  can  there  be  any  partici- 
pation in  the  receiving  of  the  superior  beings  in  places  upon 
the  earth  or  by  human  beings  dwelling  there  unless  such  a 
beginning  shall  have  been  first  established. 


*  Plato  in  the  Timceos  denominates  matter,  the  materia  or  maternal 
principle  of  the  universe,  the  tithone  or  nurse,  and  the  upodoche  or 
receptacle,  the  womb  of  created  things.  Professor  Butler  remarks  ac- 
cordingly that  "it  is  the  transition-element  between  the  real  and  the 
apparent,  the  eternal  and  the  contingent." 


220  PROPER    SACRIFICES 

We  ought,  then,  to  confide  in  the  arcane  declarations,  that 
by  means  of  the  holy  spectacles,  a  certain  principle  of  matter 
is  transmitted  from  the  gods.  This  matter  without  doubt 
is  of  the  same  nature  with  the  very  ones  themselves  by  whom 
it  is  given.  Hence,  does  not  the  sacrificing  of  such  a  kind  of 
matter  arouse  the  gods  to  the  visible  manifestation,  invite 
them  to  come  quickly  to  our  perception,  and  likewise  receive 
them  when  they  are  present  and  cause  them  to  unfold  them- 
selves perfectly  to  view? 

THE  KIND  OF  SACRIFICES  MOST  PROPER 

The  same  things  may  also  be  learned  from  the  assignment 
of  the  gods  according  to  places,  and  from  the  division  of  au- 
thority over  every  particular  thing,  so  far  as  they  are  assigned 
according  to  the  different  ranks,  or  the  greater  or  lesser  allot- 
ments. For  this  is  certainly  plain:  that  to  the  gods  that  are 
in  charge  over  particular  places  the  things  that  are  produced 
by  them  are  the  most  proper  to  be  brought  for  sacrifice,  and 
those  that  pertain  to  the  governed  are  best  suited  for  the 
divinities  that  govern.  For  to  the  makers  their  own  works 
are  most  particularly  gratifying,  and  to  those  who  first  of 
all  introduce  certain  things  such  are  acceptable  above  all 
else.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  certain  animals,  or  plants,  or 
other  of  the  productions  upon  the  earth,  are  under  the  rule 
of  the  superior  races*  the  divinities  participate  together  in 
their  superintendence  and  procure  for  us  an  inseparable  union 
to  themselves.    Some  of  these  things,  therefore,  being  care- 

*The  ancient  Egyptians  were  famed  for  their  veneration  of  sacred 
animals,  plants  and  other  objects,  and  many  absurd  and  ridiculous  jests 
have  been  made  on  this  account.  Plutarch  carefully  explains  the  matter. 
"Nothing  can  be  a  god  to  men,"  says  he,  "that  is  either  without  soul  or 
is  under  their  power."  But  language  is  often  mistaken  in  its  purport, 
and  symbolic  language  in  particular.  What  the  teacher  utters  as  from 
his  right  hand,  the  hearer  receives  as  with  his  left.  "Those  who  have 
not  learned  the  true  sense  of  the  words  will  also  mistake  in  the  things." 
In  this  way  statues  and  emblems  have  been  spoken  of  as  actual  objects 
of  worship,  and  animals  that  were  only  symbolic  personifications  of 
divinity  have  been  asserted  to  be  the  real  divinities  that  were  wor- 
shipped. The  intelligent  worshipper  had  no  difficulty  in  perceiving  the 
real  truth. 


SACKED  ANIMALS  231 

fully  saved  and  guarded,  increase  with  the  gods  the  intimate 
familiarity  of  those  who  hold  them  fast,  inasmuch  as  by  being 
kept  inviolate  they  preserve  in  full  force  the  communion  of 
gods  and  men. 

Of  such  a  character  are  some  of  the  animals  of  Egypt,  and 
in  the  same  manner,  the  human  being  everywhere  is  sacred.* 
Some  of  the  consecrated  victims,  however,  make  the  familiar 
relationship  more  conspicuous,  so  far  as  they  affect  the  an- 
alysis in  respect  to  the  kindred  and  more  sacred  origin  of  the 
primitive  elements  with  the  Superior  (divine)  causes.  This 
being  accomplished,  the  benefits  which  are  imparted  from  it 
are  more  perfect. 

A   TUTELAR  DIVINITY   TO   EVERY  PEOPLE 

If,  then,  these  were  human  customs  alone  and  so  derived 
their  authority  through  our  institutions,  it  might  be  asserted 
that  the  Holy  Rites  of  the  gods  were  inventions  of  our  own 
devising.  Now,  however,  God,  who  is  thus  invoked  in  the  sacri- 
fices, is  their  author,  and  the  gods  and  angels f  around  him 
constitute  a  numerous  throng.  Under  him,  likewise,  there  is 
a  public  Overlord  assigned  by  allotment  to  each  nation  upon 
the  earth,  and  to  every  sanctuary  its  own.}    Of  the  sacrifices 


*In  other  words,  likely  to  be  a  victim  at  the  altar.  "As  Manetho 
related,  they  were  used  in  archaic  times  to  burn  living  men  in  the  city 
of  Ilithyia,  styling  them  Typhonian."  Aahmes,  who  expelled  the 
Hyk-sos  rulers,  put  an  end  to  the  custom.  It  existed  in  Asiatic  countries, 
where  Semitic  worships  existed,  and  even  the  Hebrews  seem  not  to  have 
been  an  exception.  As  late  as  the  period  of  the  Persian  wars  with  the 
Greeks,  Themistokles  is  said  to  have  sacrificed  three  Persian  prisoners 
to  the  demons  or  chthonian  gods,  and  Amestris,  the  Queen  of  Xerxes, 
to  have  buried  fourteen  Persians  alive.  Even  at  a  later  period  Cains 
Marius  immolated  his  daughter  to  propitiate  the  gods;  and  some  tribes 
still  keep  up  the  custom.  There  is  a  formula  for  human  sacrifice  among 
the  Siva-worshippers  of  India.  The  putting  of  prisoners  to  death  and 
cannibalism  are  vestigia  of  the  same  practice. 

fThe  angels  are  not  a  common  constituent  in  the  Egyptian  and  Hel- 
lenic categories.  They  were  adopted  evidently  from  Judasa  or  Assyria 
about  the  same  time. 

JSee  Daniel  x,  13,  21;  xii,  1. 


222  HOLY  KITES 

made  to  the  gods,  a  god  is  director ;  of  those  to  the  angels,  it 
is  an  angel;  of  those  to  the  demons,  a  demon;  and  in  like  man- 
ner in  other  cases  a  superintendent  is  appointed  over  each 
in  the  manner  consonant  with  the  particular  race.  When, 
therefore,  we  bring  our  sacrifices  to  the  gods,  in  company 
with  the  gods  that  superintend  and  make  complete  the  mystic 
rites,  it  is  our  duty  at  the  same  time  to  revere  the  institu- 
tion of  sacred  divine  worship  in  regard  to  the  Sacrifices.  At 
the  same  time,  however,  it  becomes  us  to  be  of  good  courage 
as  we  celebrate  the  holy  rites  under  the  ruling  gods,  and  like- 
wise to  exercise  suitable  caution,  that  we  may  not  bring  some 
gift  unworthy  of  the  gods,  or  obnoxious  to  them. 

In  conclusion,  then,  we  admonish  at  all  events  that  the 
endeavor  be  made  in  respect  to  those  around  us,  gods,  angels 
and  demons,  that  are  distributed  according  to  race,  in  every 
part  of  the  universe ;  and  that  an  acceptable  sacrifice  shall  be 
presented  alike  to  them  all.  For  only  so  can  the  Holy  Rites 
be  celebrated  in  a  manner  worthy  of  the  divine  beings  that 
preside  over  them. 

CONCERNING   PRAYER 

A  part  of  the  Sacred  Rites  and  not  the  least  important  is 
that  of  the  prayers.  They  fill  out  the  sacrifices  to  the  fullest 
extent,  and  through  these  the  entire  performance  becomes 
established  and  perfect.  They  likewise  effect  the  general  com- 
bined operation  with  the  worship,  and  bring  the  Sacred 
Service  into  indissoluble  copartnership  with  the  gods.  It  will 
not  be  amiss  to  relate  a  few  things  in  respect  to  this  subject. 
For  this  very  thing  is  of  itself  worthy  to  be  learned,  and  it 
makes  our  superior  perception  in  respect  to  the  gods  more 
perfect.* 

I  affirm,  therefore,  that  the  first  ideal  of  prayer  is  a  col- 
lecting (of  our  thoughts)  and  likewise  a  leading  to  contact 

*"  Prayer  is  by  no  means  an  insignificant  part  of  the  upward  path 
of  souls,"  says  Proklos.  Sacrifices  and  Holy  Eites  were  considered  as 
the  body  of  the  prayers,  and  prayer  as  the  animating  principle  of  sacri- 
fices. The  Chaldrean  Oracle  also  declares:  "The  mortal  approaching 
the  fire  will  receive  illumination  from  the  divine  ones." 


SACKED    PERFORMANCE  223 

and  a  genuine  knowing  of  God.  Next  after  this  is  the  binding 
in  communion  with  a  single  mind,  and  also  the  calling  to  us 
of  the  gifts  which  the  gods  have  sent  down,  before  the  utter- 
ing of  a  word,  completing  the  entire  performances  before  it 
was  perceived.  But  in  the  most  perfect  ideal  which  is  the 
most  perfect  form  of  prayer,  the  occult  union  is  sealed  and 
its  validity  assured  by  the  gods,  procuring  perfect  repose  in 
them  for  our  souls.  In  these  three  limits  in  which  everything 
divine  is  measured,  prayer,  making  our  friendship  worthy  of 
the  gods,  gives  us  the  sacred  aid  from  them  three-fold.*  The 
first  of  these  relates  directly  to  illumination,  the  second  to  a 
general  completion  of  effort,  and  the  third  to  the  complete  ful- 
filment by  means  of  the  fire.f  At  one  time,  prayer  precedes 
the  Sacred  Rites,  again  it  divides  the  Sacred  Performance  in 
the  middle,  and  at  another  time,  it  further  effects  the  pur- 
pose of  the  sacrifices.  No  sacred  performance  takes  place 
properly,  without  the  supplications  in  the  prayers.  But  con- 
tinual exercise  in  them  nourishes  our  mind  and  spiritual 
nature,  makes  the  reception-chambers  of  the  soul  vastly  more 
spacious  for  the  gods,t  opens  the  arcana  of  the  gods  to  human 


*The  edition  of  Scutellius  has  this  fuller  reading:  "Prayer  not  only 
assures  to  us  the  friendship  of  the  gods,  but  brings  to  our  hand  three 
fruits,  which  are,  so  to  speak,  golden  apples  from  the  Hesperidean  gar- 
dens." 

Proklos  designates  these  three  stages  of  prayer  ixjz£Xaoist  and 
evcooiq,  the  contact,  the  approach,  the  perfect  union.  These  are  pre- 
ceded by  two  conditions :  to  know  the  different  ranks  of  the  divine  beings 
to  which  they  belong,  and  the  olxslcootg  or  family  alliance  by  which 
we  become  adopted  by  the  gods.  We  are  then  without  contact  or  any 
thing  of  matter  made  ready  for  the  illumination. 

fThe  Chaldean  Oracles  describe  the  Supreme  Divinity  as  Fire, 
creative-life-bringing  and  intellectible.  "A  whirlwind  drew  forth  the 
bloom  of  the  shadowy  fire  and  impregnated  the  wombs  of  the  universe." 
(Compare  Genesis  i,  2.)  "She  is  the  producer  of  the  work,  because  she 
is  the  giver  of  life-bringing  fire."  The  fire  as  a  symbol  in  the  shrine 
of  the  temple,  and  the  employment  of  sacred  fire  to  consume  the  con- 
secrated parts  of  the  sacrifices,  thus  represent  the  Supreme  Fire  by 
which  all  things  subsist  and  are  made  complete. 

I  Proklos  adds  the  following  in  the  way  of  comment:  "It  fills  the 
entheast  soul  to  its  full  measure." 


224  CONJOINING    WITH    THE    GODS 

beings,  accustoms  us  to  the  irradiations  of  the  Light,*  and  by 
degrees  perfects  the  qualities  within  us  to  a  conjoining  with 
the  gods,  bringing  us  back  again  to  the  summit. t  It  quietly 
draws  upward  our  habits  of  thought  and  imparts  to  us  the 
moral  qualities  of  the  gods.  And  besides  this,  persuasive 
discourse  awakens  a  fellowship  and  affection  that  are  indis- 
soluble. It  likewise  augments  the  divine  love  and  lights  up 
the  divine  quality  of  the  soul.  It  also  cleanses  away  every- 
thing from  the  soul  that  is  of  a  contrary  character,  and  re- 
moves whatever  about  it  is  of  an  aether-like  and  luminant 
spirit,  so  far  as  it  is  allied  to  the  sphere  of  generated  existence. 
It  likewise  makes  perfect  a  good  hope  and  confidence  in  respect 
to  the  Light,  and,  in  short,  brings  to  perfection  those  who 
are  exercised  in  these  disciplines,  so  that  we  may  call  them 
Companions  of  the  gods. 

If  this  is  what  may  be  said  of  prayer,  that  it  effects  in  us 
benefits  of  such  importance,  and  likewise  that  it  has  a  close 
relation  to  the  sacrifices  which  we  have  mentioned,  does  not 
the  object  of  the  Sacred  Kites  thereby  become  clear,  that  it  is 
a  participating  in  intimate  relations  with  the  Creator?  As 
then  through  the  celebrating  of  the  Eites,  the  benefit  from  it 
is  as  much  as  is  conferred  by  the  demiurgic  divinities  upon 
human  beings.t     Indeed,  from  that  source  the  exalting,  the 


*The  representation  of  the  Divine  essence  as  a  supernal  luminance 
is  universal.  The  passage  in  the  proem  of  the  Johannean  Gospel  has 
been  the  philosophic  dogma  of  all  periods:  "In  the  Logos  or  divine 
reason,  was  life,  and  the  life  was  the  light  of  mankind."  The  Chaldean 
Oracle  also  says :  "When  thou  shalt  see  a  very  holy  fire  without  definable 
shape,  leaping  as  it  shines,  hearken  to  the  voice  of  the  Fire."  Moses 
and  Zoroaster  both  professed  to  hear  the  words  of  the  Deity  spoken  out 
of  fire.    (Deut.  v.) 

Pure  fire  unmingled  with  material  particles  is  not  visible  to  the 
human  faculty  of  sight.  This  explains  satisfactorily  the  apparent  con- 
tradiction, in  which  the  Supreme  Being  is  depicted  as  Light,  and  like- 
wise as  enveloped  in  clouds  and  thick  darkness. 

f" Through  Prayer,"  says  Proklos,  "the  summit  of  moral  excellence, 
the  holiness  which  pertains  to  the  gods,  is  attained." 

JThis  is  an  allusion  upon  which  Plato  throws  light  in  the  Timaos. 
"He  (the  Demiurgos  or  Creator)  charged  the  junior  gods  with  the  work 
of  constructing  mortal  bodies,  as  well  as  everything  additional  that  was 


THE   SACERDOTAL  SYSTEM  225 

perfecting  and  completing  influence  of  the  prayers  becomes 
manifest,  how  it  becomes  active,  how  unifying,  and  it  has  a 
common  bond  which  is  given  from  the  gods.  In  the  third 
place,  therefore,  any  one  may  easily  perceive  from  what  has 
been  said,  that  the  two  (prayer  and  sacrifice)  are  established 
through  each  other  and  impart  to  each  other  the  sacred  power 
of  the  holy  perfective  rite. 

Hence  there  is  manifest  through  all  parts  of  the  Sacer- 
dotal System,  the  complete  agreement  and  joint  working  with 
itself:  the  parts  of  it  being  more  naturally  connected  than 
those  of  any  animal,  and  joined  together  by  one  uninterrupted 
continuity  of  substance.  Of  this  fact  we  ought  never  to  be 
unmindful;  nor  should  we  accept  half  of  it  and  reject  the 
other  half,  but  should  be  exercised  in  them  all  alike.  It  is 
necessary  that  they  who  desire  genuinely  to  be  conjoined  with 
the  gods  should  be  initiated  through  the  whole  of  them. 

These  things,  therefore,  may  not  be  otherwise. 


required  for  the  human  soul.  He  gave  them  dominion  over  these  and 
all  things  consequent  thereto,  and  bade  them  rule  over  the  mortal  crea- 
tion as  nobly  and  honorably  as  they  could,  in  order  that  it  might  not 
become  the  cause  of  evil  to  itself."  The  "Junior  Gods"  are  those  so 
generally  mentioned  by  our  author.  They  are  also  classed  under  the 
head  of  aXxia,  aitia — causes  or  categories — and  as  we  here  observe,  are 
the  demiurgic  or  organizing  causes. 


XIV 
CONDITIONS  FOR  SUCCESSFUL  RESULTS 


PART   VI 

CHAPTER  XIV 

CONDITIONS    FOR    SUCCESSFUL    RESULTS 

CONTAMINATION  FROM  DEAD  ANIMALS 

In  regard  to  what  remains  to  be  considered,  it  is  high  time 
for  me  to  pass  on  to  the  difficulty  which  you  next  suggest.  ' '  It 
is  also  required,"  you  say,  "that  the  Beholder*  must  be  pure 
from  the  contact  of  anything  dead,  and  yet  of  the  rites 
employed  to  briny  the  gods  hither,  many  are  made  effective 
through  dead  animals.' f  In  order  to  reconcile  these  apparent 
contradictions  we  will  take  a  survey  of  the  conflict  that  seems 
to  exist.  There  is  no  opposition  at  all  in  the  case,  but  it  only 
appears  to  be  a  contradiction  in  terms.  For,  indeed,  if  the 
law  of  the  Eites  commanded  both  that  the  dead  bodies  of  the 
sacrifices  should  not  be  touched,  and  also  that  they  should 
be  touched,  this  would  be  contradictory  to  itself.  But  if  it 
enjoins  to  keep  aloof  from  those  bodies  that  have  not  been 
consecrated,  but  permits  to  touch  those  that  are  purified,  this 
is  no  contradiction.! 

Further  still,  it  is  not  allowable  to  handle  the  bodies  of 
human  beings  after  the  soul  has  left  them.  For  there  is  a 
certain  trace,  an  eidolon,  or  reflection  of  divine  life  which  has 
been  extinguished  in  the  body  by  death.  But  it  is  not  an 
unholy  act  to  touch  other  animals  that  are  dead,  since  they  do 
not  share  the  diviner  life.  It  is,  therefore,  in  the  case  of  the 
other  divinities,  such  as  are  not  separate  from  matter,  that 
abstinence  from  touching  is  essential,  but  in  that  of  the  gods 
that  preside  over  animals  and  are  intimately  united  to  them, 
the  invocation  through  animals  in  sacrifice  is  conceded. 

According  to  this  view,  therefore,  there  is  no  contradiction. 


♦The  epoptes,  ephoros,  Theoros  or  candidate  undergoing  initiation, 
and  so  contemplating  the  views  presented  for  Ins  instruction. 

f  Porphyry  himself,  and  Plotinos  before  him,  it  may  be  remarked, 
did  not  approve  of  the  killing  of  animals  for  food  or  sacrifice.  They 
also  regarded  the  touch  of  a  dead  body  as  polluting  to  the  person  touched. 

229 


230  DEFILEMENT 


CONCERNING  IMPURITY  FROM  THE  DEAD 

This  matter  may  also  be  explained  in  another  way.  For 
bodies  deprived  of  life  do  bring  defilement  to  human  beings 
who  are  held  by  matter,  because  that  which  is  not  alive  places 
a  stain  upon  the  living  individual,  like  filth  upon  the  clean, 
and  one  in  a  state  of  privation  upon  one  in  possession  of  a 
sufficiency,  and  also  because  it  produces  a  taint  through  the 
natural  aptitude  to  a  worse  condition  by  there  being  the 
power  of  dying.  But  the  body  produces  no  defilement  upon 
a  demon,  he  being  entirely  incorporeal,  and  not  receiving 
corruption  from  anywhere.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  necessary 
for  him  to  be  superior  to  the  corruptible  body,  and  not  to  re- 
ceive from  it  into  himself  any  reflection  of  corruption. 

This  much,  therefore,  I  say  in  reference  to  the  difficulty 
which  you  suggest  in  regard  to  the  contradiction. 

ANIMALS  IN  DIVINATION 

While  explaining  by  itself  how  divination  is  performed 
by  means  of  the  sacred  animals,  as,  for  example,  by  hawks,* 
we  did  not  assert  in  any  manner  that  by  the  employment  of 
bodies  thus  brought  into  affinity,  the  gods  were  present.  For 
they  are  not  set  over  animals  singly,  either  by  assignment, 
or  by  any  relation  to  the  realm  of  matter.  But  to  the  demons, 
and  especially  to  those  that  are  apportioned  to  the  realm  of 
matter,  such  dealing  with  the  agencies  of  divination  may  be 
assigned,  different  animals  being  allotted  to  different  ones, 
and  such  ascendency  having  been  established  through  con- 
tiguity, and  they  not  having  been  assigned  by  lot  to  their  re- 
spective dominion,  by  lot  are  entirely  independent  and  clear 


*The  hawk  was  held  in  special  esteem  in  Ancient  Egypt.  Ka  the 
Sun-God  was  represented  in  the  hieroglyphics  with  a  hawk's  head  hold- 
ing the  solar  circle  in  its  beak;  and  Thoth  was  also  depicted  having  the 
same  emblem,  to  show  that  he  was  the  genius  of  intelligence.  The  bird 
was  regarded  as  having  the  faculty  of  divining.  Its  body  after  death 
was  embalmed  and  deposited  in  the  shrine  at  Buto,  and  whoever  killed 
one,  even  by  accident,  was  punished  by  death.  In  Greece,  likewise,  the 
hawk  was  a  symbol  of  the  sun,  and  sacred  to  Apollo,  the  god  of  oracles. 


THE   SOUL   OF   ANIMALS  231 

of  the  realm  of  matter.  Or,  if  any  one  desires  it  to  be  set 
forth,  a  seat  or  vehicle  may  be  assigned  to  them  of  such  a 
character  by  means  of  which  they  may  be  enabled  to  hold 
converse  and  give  responses  to  human  beings.  We  must  think, 
then,  that  this  vehicle  is  pure  from  contamination  of  bodies ; 
for  no  communion  whatever  exists  between  that  which  is  pure 
and  the  contrary,  but  there  is  a  reason  for  it  to  be  conjoined 
with  human  beings  through  the  soul  of  animals.*  For  this 
soul  has  a  nature  kindred  to  human  beings,  through  a  like  vital 
principle;  and  likewise  to  demons,  because  being  free  from 
bodies  it  after  a  manner  exists  separately.  But  as  it  is  inter- 
mediate between  both,  it  is  subservient  to  the  controlling 
demon,  yet  it  makes  known  to  those  who  are  still  withheld  in 
the  body  whatever  the  overlord  directs.  Thus  a  common 
bond  of  union  is  given  between  them,  each  to  the  other. 


THE  ART  OF  DIVINING  DEFECTIVE 

It  ought  to  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  the  soul  that 
makes  use  of  such  methods  of  divination,  not  only  becomes 
a  hearer  of  the  oracle,  but  it  also  contributes  from  itself,  to 
no  small  degree,  a  certain  fatality  for  the  accomplishing  of 
it  in  respect  to  the  performances.  For  through  a  certain  sym- 
pathy of  necessity,  they  are  moved  together,  and  act  and  prog- 
nosticate together.  Hence  such  a  mode  of  divining  as  this 
is  entirely  different  from  the  mode  that  is  divine  and  genu- 
ine ;f  being  able  to  give  oracles  in  relation  to  trivial  and  every- 
day matters — such  as  pertain  to  the  diversified  realm  of 
nature,  and  are  now  brought  into  relation  to  generated  ex- 
istence.   They  likewise  impart  activities  from  themselves  to 


*It  was  held  that  souls,  when  separated  from  the  bodies  by  violence, 
continue  to  abide  around  the  bodies,  and  hence  that  the  theurgic  priests 
were  able  through  their  agency  to  draw  the  guardian  demons  to  them. 

fAugustin  of  Hippo  berated  Porphyry  in  regard  to  this  distinction 
between  "divine"  or  "angelic"  and  the  other  communications.  "Behold," 
says  he,  "  Iamblichos,  the  patron  of  the  Egyptian  priests,  deserts  his 
clients." 


233  AVOID  EMOTIONAL   EXCITEMENT 

those  capable  of  receiving  them  and  produce  emotional  con- 
ditions of  many  kinds  in  those  who  are  naturally  susceptible 
to  being  affected  in  concert.*  But  the  perfect  faculty  of  fore- 
knowing is  never  developed  by  emotional  excitement.  For 
that  which  is  most  of  all  the  unchangeable,  and  likewise  the 
exempt  from  matter  and  in  every  way  pure,  attains  readily 
to  a  perception  of  the  future;  but  that  which  is  commingled 
with  the  irrationality  and  darkness  of  the  corporeal  and  ma- 
terialistic nature,  is  filled  with  dense  ignorance.  Hence,  it  is 
never  well  to  receive  any  such  ingenious  procedure  in  divina- 
tion. Nor  ought  we  to  make  use  of  it  with  any  considerable 
eagerness,  nor  to  trust  another  person  that  does  it,  as  though 
it  possessed  of  itself  any  clear  and  well-known  evidence  of 
truth.  This  is  enough  for  us  to  say  in  relation  to  this  kind  of 
divining. 

CONCERNING  THREATS  MADE  IN  THE  RITES 

Come,  then,  let  us  discourse  about  difficulties  of  another 
class,  that  are  in  the  category  of  occult  things,  and  which 
contain,  as  you  say,  "threats  of  violence."  In  regard  to  the 
multitude  of  threats,  the  accusation  is  divided  into  many  parts. 
For  the  actor  threatens  that  he  will  either  "assail  the  sky, 
reveal  to  view  the  arcana  of  Isis,  expose  to  public  gaze  the 
ineffable  symbol  in  Abydos,t  to  stop  the  Baris,  scatter  the 


*This  accounts  also  for  the  enthusiasm  characteristic  of  the  Bacchic 
festivals,  and  kindred  exhibitions  at  public  assemblies,  where  some  pow- 
erful influence  predominates.  Such  nervous  affections  as  hysteria  and 
epilepsy  are  sometimes  occasioned  in  such  ways.  In  the  old  languages 
the  same  terms  are  used  to  denote  mental  derangement  and  prophetic 
inspiration. 

fin  the  Greek  text  of  the  Letter  of  Porphyry  this  term  is  "adyton," 
the  inner  shrine  of  the  temple,  but  here  it  is  Abydos,  a  city  in  Middle 
Egypt,  where  was  the  most  ancient  temple  to  Isis  and  Osiris,  and  also 
a  "tomb."  Some  writers  insist  that  only  the  adytum  was  meant;  others 
that  reference  is  made  to  the  shrine  at  Abydos.  This  was  the  oldest 
metropolis  in  Egypt. 

The  theologic  myths  of  Egypt  contain  an  explanation  of  these  expres- 
sions. Osiris  and  Isis,  or  Uasar  and  Uasi,  were  the  two  principal  divini- 
ties commemorated  in  the  Egyptian  Sacred  Rites.    They  were  doubtless 


FORCIBLE   UTTERANCE  233 

limbs  of  Osiris  like  Typhon,  or  do  something  else  of  a  similar 
character. ' ' 

The  men  do  not,  as  you  imagine,  hold  out  this  form  of 
words  as  a  threat  ''to  the  Sun-god,  or  to  the  Moon,  or  any  of 
the  divine  ones  in  the  sky ' ' ;  for  then  there  would  occur  more 
fearful  monstrosities  than  those  of  which  you  angrily  com- 
plain. On  the  other  hand,  as  I  said  before  in  these  explana- 
tions, there  is  in  the  divisions  of  the  world  a  class  of  powers, 
incapable  of  judgment,  and  unreasoning.  It  receives  and 
obeys  a  word  of  command  from  another,  but  it  neither  makes 
use  of  intelligence  of  its  own,  nor  distinguishes  the  true  and 
the  false,  or  the  possible  or  impossible.  Such  a  race  of  beings, 
when  threats  are  held  over  them  incessantly,  are  thrown  into 
agitation  and  filled  with  amazement.  Hence,  I  think  that  it  is 
natural  for  this  class  to  be  led  by  forcible  utterances,  and 
to  attract  other  things  by  means  of  senseless  and  unstable 
phantasy. 

THE  THREATENING  FURTHER  EXPLAINED 

These  things  have  also  another  explanation,  as  follows: 
The  theurgic  priest,  through  the  power  of  the  ineffable  em- 
blems, commands  the  cosmic  spirits,  not  as  a  human  being, 
nor  as  making  use  of  a  human  soul.*    On  the  other  hand,  as 


of  Asiatic  origin,  and  the  legend  seems  to  be  a  representation  of  the 
contest  with  the  Shepards.  Seth,  Sutekh,  or  Typhon  was  the  tutelary- 
god  of  Northern  Egypt  of  the  Hyk-sos,  and  of  the  Kheti  or  Hittites  of 
Asia.  He  is  described  as  the  brother  of  Osiris  and  as  having  treacher- 
ously murdered  him,  and  afterward  dismembering  the  body.  The  wid- 
owed Isis  wanders  over  Egypt  and  to  Phoenicia  in  quest  of  his  remains. 
They  are  finally  transported  in  the  boat  Baris  to  their  final  resting- 
place.  The  simulacrum  of  one  part  is  placed  in  every  shrine  as  a 
sacred  relic.    These  things  were  commemorated  in  the  Sacred  Rites. 

*See  Part  IV,  Chapter  II.  "In  all  theurgic  rites  there  is  a  double 
character  put  forward :  the  one  as  a  human  being,  the  other  as  par- 
ticipating of  a  superior  nature  and  exalted  to  the  order  of  divinities.  .  .  . 
In  the  former  the  priest  makes  the  invocation  as  a  man  and  suppli- 
cates the  superior  beings ;  in  the  other,  he  commands  the  powers  of  the 
universe,  because  through  the  ineffable  symbols,  he  is  in  some  manner 
invested  with  the  sacred  character  of  the  gods." 


234  INEFFABLE  MYSTERIES 

one  preexisting  in  the  order  of  the  gods,  he  makes  use  of 
threatenings  more  terrible  than  he  could  make  from  his  own 
being  alone.  This  is  not  as  though  he  was  about  to  do  every- 
thing which  he  confidently  affirms,  but  he  teaches  by  such  use 
of  words  how  much,  how  great  and  what  power  he  has  through 
being  at  one  with  the  gods.  This  power  the  knowledge  of  the 
ineffable  symbols  imparts  to  him. 

This  also  can  be  said:  That  the  demons  who  are  dis- 
tributed by  departments,  and  who  are  guardians  over  the 
departments  of  the  universe,  have  charge  and  superintend- 
ence individually  of  the  departments  to  which  they  were 
allotted;  so  that  they  do  not  even  admit  a  word  to  the  con- 
trary, but  preserve  the  perpetual  continuance  of  things  in  the 
world  without  change.  They  assume  this  unchangeableness, 
because  the  order  of  the  gods  remains  immovably  the  same. 
Hence,  they  do  not  endure  even  to  a  hearing,  that  this  shall 
be  threatened  in  which  the  demons  of  the  atmosphere  and 
those  of  the  earth  have  their  being.* 

DEMONS  THE  GUARDIANS   OF  THE   MYSTERIES 

The  subject  may  also  be  explained  as  follows :  The  demons 
have  the  guardianship  of  the  Ineffable  Mysteries.  Thus, 
therefore,  I  assure  you  they  maintain  to  a  superior  degree  the 
orderly  arrangement  everywhere.  For  through  this  the  con- 
stituent parts  of  the  universe  remain  in  their  order  because 
the  beneficent  power  of  Osiris  continues  pure  and  immacu- 
late, and  is  not  at  all  commingled  with  the  opposing  vice  and 
disorder.  The  life  of  all  things  also  remains  pure  and  un- 
corrupt  because  the  occult  life-producing  beauties  of  the  ra- 
tional faculties  of  Isis  do  not  descend  into  the  body,  which  is 
manifest  and  visible  to  the  senses.  But  all  things  remain  im- 
mutable and  ever-coming  into  existence,!  because  the  course  of 


*The  powers  having  as  their  vahan  or  vehicle  the  sun,  moon  and 
stars,  were  the  demons  thus  threatened. 

jln  the  ancient  philosophy,  creation  was  identical  with  generation. 
Hence  the  universe  is  styled  "aeigenes"  or  ever  generated,  as  being 
constantly  replenished  and  renewed.  Creation  is  a  work  always  taking 
place. 


THE    SAFETY    OF    ALL   THINGS  235 

the  sun  is  never  stopped.  All  things  likewise  remain  perfect 
and  entire  because  the  ineffable  arcane  in  Abydos  (or  in  the  in- 
ner shrine)  are  never  at  any  time  revealed  to  profane  contem- 
plation. Hence  in  these  conditions,  in  which  consists  the 
safety  of  all  things,  I  say,  in  the  ineffable  symbols  being  pre- 
served occult  and  in  the  unutterable  essence  of  the  gods  never 
being  repressed  by  the  contrary  allotment — this  is  not  en- 
durable even  by  sound  for  the  demons  to  listen  to  that  belong 
around  the  earth,  namely:  that  they  are  diverse  in  quality, 
or  are  unhallowed  beings,  and  that  on  this  account  such  a 
style  of  [threatening]  words  has  a  certain  appropriateness 
to  them.  No  one,  however,  utters  a  threat  to  the  gods,  nor  is 
any  such  mode  of  prayer  addressed  to  them. 

Accordingly  with  the  Chaldasans,  with  whom  there  has  been 
a  pure  language  set  apart  for  the  gods  alone,  a  threat  is  never 
uttered.  The  Egyptian  priests,  however,  having  intermingled 
at  the  same  time  the  divine  symbolic  terms  and  the  demonian 
words,  make  use,  when  it  is  proper,  of  threats. 

Thou  hast  now  the  answer  in  relation  to  these  difficulties ; 
concise,  indeed,  but  I  think  sufficiently  clearing  away  every  one 
of  them. 


XV 

ORIGIN  OF  EGYPTIAN  SYMBOLISM 


PART  VII 

SACRED  NAMES  AND  SYMBOLIC  EXPRESSION 


CHAPTER  XV 

ORIGIN  OF  EGYPTIAN  SYMBOLISM 

Those  difficulties  require  for  solution  the  same  divinely 
wise  Muse.  I  desire,  beforehand,  however,  to  interpret  to  thee 
the  peculiar  form  of  the  theologic  system  of  the  Egyptians. 
For  they,  endeavoring  to  represent  the  productive  principle  of 
the  universe  and  the  creative  function  of  the  gods,  exhibit  cer- 
tain images  as  symbols  of  mystic,  occult  and  invisible  concep- 
tions, in  a  similar  manner  as  Nature  (the  productive  prin- 
ciple), in  her  peculiar  way,  makes  a  likeness  of  invisible  prin- 
ciples through  symbols  in  visible  forms.*  But  the  creative 
energy  of  the  gods  delineates  the  genuine  reality  of  the  forms 
through  the  visible  images.  The  Egyptian  priests,  therefore, 
perceiving  that  all  the  superior  races  are  gratified  at  the  resem- 
blances of  the  inferior  tribes  to  themselves,  and  desiring  to 
supply  the  latter  with  benefits  through  such  representations, 
so  far  as  possible,  do  themselves  bring  into  use  for  them  as 
may  be  expected,  a  mode  of  initiation  into  the  mysteries  which 
is  appropriately  concealed  in  the  symbols. 

SYMBOL    EXPLAINED. 

Listen,  therefore,  to  the  spiritual  interpretation  of  the  sym- 
bols, according  to  the  conception  of  the  Egyptian  priests,  dis- 
missing from  thy  imagination  and  hearing  the  phantom-like- 
ness of  the  symbols  themselves,  and  bringing  thyself  upward 
to  the  spiritual  reality. 


♦See  Herodotos :  II,  60.    Plutarch,  Isis  and  Osiris  18,  and  through- 
out. 

289 


240  THE   EGYPTIAN   MYSTERIES 

By  "ilus"  or  slime,  then,  recognize  everything  of  a  corpo- 
real nature  or  belonging  to  the  realm  of  matter,  or  that  is  nour- 
ishing and  procreative,  or  such  as  is  a  material  form  belonging 
to  the  realm  of  nature  and  borne  along  with  the  never-still  cur- 
rents of  the  realm  of  matter,  or  such  as  the  river  of  generative 
existence  contains  and  which  sinks  with  it,  or  the  originating 
caupe  of  the  elements  and  of  all  the  powers  relating  to  the  ele- 
ments, which  subsisted  before  in  correspondence  to  a  foun- 
dation.* 

It  being  of  such  a  quality,  God,  who  is  author  of  all  genera- 
tion and  production,  and  of  all  elemental  forces,  as  being  supe- 
rior to  them,  immaterial  and  incorporeal,  exalted  above  the 
realm  of  nature  and  likewise  begotten  and  undivided,  entire 
of  himself  and  concealed  in  himself,  is  supreme  above  all  these 
and  embraces  them  all  in  himself.  And  because  he  contains 
everything  and  gives  himself  to  all  the  universe,  he  is  made 
manifest  out  from  them.  Because  he  is  superior  to  the  uni- 
verse, he  is  spread  out  over  it  by  himself,  and  is  manifested  as 
separate,  removed,  high  in  the  air  and  unfolded  by  himself 
above  the  forces  and  elementary  principles  in  the  world.f 

The  following  symbol  likewise  attests  this:  For  the  one 
''sitting  above  the  lotus-blossom"  expresses  enigmatically  an 
exaltation  above  the  slime,  and  likewise  denotes  spiritual  and 
empyrial  supremacy.!    For  everything  pertaining  to  the  lotos, 


♦This  definition  of  ilus  or  slime  applies  also  to  hule,  the  foundation- 
principle  of  everything  denominated  "material."  It  is  a  concept  of  the 
mind,  and  not  a  something  that  can  be  weighed,  measured,  or  perceived 
by  the  senses :  and  if  the  term  has  any  intelligible  meaning,  it  may  be 
designated  as  passive,  negative  or  objectified  force. 

fThe  representation  of  the  winged  disk,  so  common  in  Egyptian 
symbolism,  is  here  denoted.  The  description  also  applies  to  the  figures 
of  Assur  and  Ahurmazda  of  the  Assyrian  and  Persian  temples  floating 
in  the  air  above  the  Sacred  Tree  and  the  adoring  King  and  priests. 

J  The  lotos  or  Nymphse  was  anciently  esteemed  as  the  queen  of  the 
world  of  blossoms.  Each  of  its  numerous  species  seems  to  have  been 
regarded  as  sacred  in  some  of  the  ancient  nations,  and  the  same  venera- 
tion is  still  maintained  in  China  and  India.  The  American  pond-lily  is 
of  the  same  family.     It  has  been  conjectured  to  have  received  its  dis- 


THE    PILOT   FROM   ABOVE  241 

both  the  forms  in  the  leaves  and  the  appearance  of  the  seed,  is 
observed  to  be  circular.  This  very  energy  is  akin  to  the  unique 
circle-like  motion  of  the  mind,  manifesting  it  in  like  manner 
according  to  the  same  forms,  in  a  single  arrangement,  and 
according  to  one  principle. 

The  god  himself,  however,  is  seated  alone,  above  any  such 
dominion  or  energy,  august  and  holy,  filled  abundantly,  and 
remaining  in  himself  without  change,  as  the  figure  of  one  sit- 
ting is  intended  to  signify.* 

The  one  "sailiDg  in  a  Boat"!  sets  before  the  mind  the 
power  that  directs  the  world.  As,  therefore,  the  Pilot,  being 
apart  from  the  ship,  has  the  control  of  its  rudders,  so  the  Sun 
subsisting  separately  has  control  of  the  helms  of  all  the  world. 
And  as  the  pilot  from  above  at  the  stern,  giving  forth  from 
himself  the  first  brief  beginning  of  the  course,  directs  every- 
thing, so  by  an  infinite  priority  of  rank,  the  God  from  above, 
imparts  without  division  from  the  first  principles  of  Nature, 
the  first-operative  causes  of  motions.  These  things,  therefore, 
and  still  more  than  these,  are  denoted  by  One  Sailing  in  a  boat. 


tinction  from  the  analogy  of  its  seeds,  which  sprout  in  the  capsule  of  the 
plant  and  begin  to  grow  till  they  burst  the  pericarp  and  float  away  to 
take  root  in  the  slime  by  themselves. 

The  Egyptian  priests  were  accustomed  to  exhibit  simulacra  of  the 
gods  in  circles  and  globes  as  symbols  of  the  uniform  principle  of  life. 
Hermes  Trismegistus  compared  Divinity  to  a  circle,  and  the  sublime 
description  will  be  remembered,  that  its  centre  is  everywhere  and  the 
circumference  nowhere.  The  Pythagoreans  regarded  the  circle  as  sacred, 
and  considered  it  as  the  symbol  of  the  highest  spiritual  truth.  It  also 
represents  very  aptly  all  human  progress,  which  is  never  in  straight 
lines,  but  in  circles  returning  on  themselves  as  if  advancing  in  ascend- 
ing spirals  or  retrograding  in  vortexes  tending  downward. 

*Horos  as  Har-pokrates  was  depicted  as  sitting  on  the  cup  of  the 
lotos-blossom,  with  a  finger  on  his  mouth,  contemplating  the  circle,  and 
was  the  divinity  here  signified. 

f Porphyry:  Cave  of  the  Nymphs:  "The  Egyptians  represented  the 
Sun  and  all  the  demons  as  not  connected  with  anything  solid  or  stable, 
but  as  elevated  on  a  sailing  vessel." 


242  PRAYERS    TO   THE    SUN 

THE   SUN   THE   SOURCE   OF   ENERGY. 

Every  department  of  the  sky,  every  sign  of  the  zodiac, 
every  celestial  course,  every  period  of  time  according  to  which 
the  world  is  put  in  motion,  and  all  perfect  things  receive  the 
forces  which  go  forth  from  the  Sun.  Some  of  these  forces  are 
closely  interblended  with  these,  but  others  are  superior  to  any 
commingling  with  them.  Accordingly,  the  symbolic  mode  of 
expression  also  suggests  them :  "Assuming  a  shape  according 
to  the  Signs  of  the  Zodiac  and  changing  forms  according  to 
the  Season.' f  It  likewise  manifests  his  unchangeable,  constant, 
unceasing  and  generally  universal  and  abundant  giving  to  the 
whole  world. 

The  different  receivers,  however,  are  variously  affected  with 
regard  to  the  indivisible  boon  of  the  divinity,  and  they  receive 
from  the  Sun  powers  of  many  kinds  according  to  their  peculiar 
impulses.  In  this  way  the  series  of  symbols  coming  in  succes- 
sion, is  designed,  through  the  multitude  of  gifts,  to  make  man- 
ifest the  One  God  [the  Sun] ,  and  through  the  manifold  powers 
exhibited,  to  cause  his  one  power  to  appear.  Hence,  also,  it 
sets  forth  that  he  is  One  and  the  Same,  but  that  the  changes 
of  shape  and  the  transformations  are  taken  for  granted  among 
the  recipients.* 

On  this  account  it  is  affirmed  that  the  Sun  changes  "  accord- 
ing to  the  sign  of  the  zodiac  and  according  to  the  season," 
because  these  manifestations  are  diversified  with  respect  to 
the  god,  according  to  the  many  forms  of  his  reception. 

The  Egyptian  priests  make  use  of  such  prayers  to  the  Sun, 
not  only  at  the  Autopsias,  but  also  in  the  more  public  prayers 
which  have  an  interior  sense,  and  are  offered  to  the  divinity 
with  reference  to  such  a  symbolic  initiation  into  the 
Mysteries.! 


*In  this  way,  the  Sun  and  Moon,  though  always  of  the  same  dimen- 
sion, vary  in  apparent  size  and  color,  owing  to  accidents  of  the  position 
of  the  earth,  and  the  conditions  of  the  spectator's  eyesight. 

f  Porphyry  in  his  letter  to  Anebo,  interrogated  him  directly  about 
these  matters.  "For  this  is  said  to  be  seen  at  the  Autopsias,"  says  he, 
"and  they  unwittingly  attribute  to  that  divinity  a  peculiar  incident  of 


A  LANGUAGE   OF   PRIESTS  243 

Hence  it  is  not  permitted  that  anyone  shall  offer  any  expla- 
nation. 

"THE   TERMS    THAT    ARE    UNINTELLIGIBLE." 

But  the  enquiries  which  follow,  if  we  are  to  go  through 
with  them  sufficiently  in  detail,  require  more  information.  Yet 
it  is  equally  necessary  in  replying  to  bring  out  the  truth  in 
relation  to  them  in  few  words.  Thou  demandest :  ' '  Why  are 
terms  preferred  that  are  unintelligible?"* 


their  own  imagination.  If,  however,  these  expressions  are  uttered 
figuratively,  and  are  symbolic  representations  of  his  forces,  let  them  tell 
the  interpretation  of  the  symbols.  For  it  is  plain  that  if  they  denote 
the  condition  of  the  Sun,  as  in  eclipses,  they  would  be  seen  by  every  one 
who  looked  toward  it  intently." 

The  Autopsia  was  the  final  experience  at  the  Initiatory  Eite,  when 
the  candidate  became  an  epoptes  or  Beholder.  It  was  at  once  a  view  of 
one's  own  interior  self  and  a  vision  of  the  Divinity.  "Such  a  one,"  says 
Pindar,  "knows  the  end  of  life  and  its  sources  from  God."  Paul  the 
apostle  is  a  little  more  explicit.  "Such  a  man,"  says  he,  "was  rapt  into 
Paradise  and  heard  ineffable  things  which  it  is  not  permitted  a  man 
to  repeat."    Hence  Abammon  declines  to  grant  Porphyry's  demand. 

*The  terms  to  which  this  reference  is  supposed  to  be  made,  are  such 
as  were  enumerated  by  Alexander  Trallianus:  "Men,  Thren,  Mor,  Phor, 
Teux,  Za,  Zon,  The,  Lou,  Khri,  Gr,  Ze,  On."  By  these  words,  Tralli- 
anus declared,  the  sun  becomes  fixed  in  the  heavens.  He  adds  also 
others:  "lax,  Azuph,  Zuon,  Threux,  Ban,  Khok."  Very  likely  these 
as  well  as  the  famous  Ephesian  "spells,"  belong  to  an  archaic  language, 
which  remained  as  a  dialect  of  priests  after  having  passed  out  of  common 
use.  The  Latin  language  used  in  the  Eoman  worship,  the  Hebrew  in 
the  Jewish,  and  the  Sanskrit  in  the  Brahman  are  analogous  examples. 
Diodoros  affirms  that  a  barbarous  or  foreign  dialect  was  used  in  the 
Samothrakian  arcane  rites.  The  expression,  "Konx  om  pax"  at  the 
Eleusinia  has  perplexed  scholars  for  centuries.  Mr.  Eobert  Brown,  Jr. 
however,  has  traced  it  to  the  Akkad  origin,  and  shows  it  to  be  a  pro- 
fession of  the  Supreme  Truth  of  existence. 

There  has  always  been  a  "language  of  priests:"  the  ancients  called 
it  "speech  of  the  gods."  Homer  gives  us  names  in  that  dialect  as  well 
as  those  given  by  "men."  The  monarchs  of  Egypt  and  Assyria  took 
divine  names  in  addition  to  their  family  designations,  and  the  practice 
has  been  followed  for  many  centuries  by  the  Popes  of  Eome,  when 
taking  office,  to  adopt  a  saint's  name  for  their  official  title. 

The  Mystic  Eites  were  accompaniments  of  the  Sacred  language. 
They  were  observed  in  every  ancient  nation  that  had  a  literature,  and 
seem  to  have  been  derived  from  the  country  of  the  Euphrates.  It  was 
esteemed  sacrilegious  to  divulge  them,  and  the  holy  name  of  a  divinity 
was  not  permitted  to  be  uttered  outside  the  temple.     See  Exodus  xx:7. 


244  SIGNIFICANT   TO   THE  GODS 

They  are  not  "  unintelligible/ '  however,  as  thou  hast 
thought.  Nevertheless,  let  them  be  unknown  to  us,  or  let  some 
of  them  be  known,  with  reference  to  which  we  receive  solutions 
from  the  gods ;  they,  certainly,  are  all  of  them  significant  to 
the  gods  in  a  manner  not  divulged.  Nor  can  they  be  significant 
and  also  oracular  with  human  beings  through  imaginings,  but 
either  spiritually  by  the  mind  which  is  at  once  divine  and 
human,*  or  in  silence,  or  to  express  the  conception  in  a  better 
and  simpler  manner,  by  a  mind  united  with  the  gods.f 

We  should,  therefore,  set  aside  all  conceits  and  logical  quib- 
bles in  regard  to  the  divine  names,  and  should,  likewise,  pay 
no  attention  to  natural  resemblances  of  speech  which  are 
closely  akin  to  objects  in  the  realm  of  nature.  In  the  same 
manner,  then,  as  the  symbolic  token  of  the  divine  likeness  is 
spiritual  and  divine,  the  same  thing  is  to  be  taken  for  granted 
in  the  names.  Indeed,  although  we  may  not  know  it,  this  very 
thing  is  the  most  august  in  the  case,  for  it  is  too  grand  to  be 
classified  for  the  purpose  of  being  made  known.  In  regard  to 
those,  however,  of  which  we  have  received  the  skill  to  interpret 
the  meaning,  we  possess  in  the  name,  the  knowledge  of  the 
divine  essence,  power  and  order.  Moreover,  we  guard  care- 
fully in  the  soul  the  mystic  and  ineffable  image  of  the  gods ; 
and  through  this  we  lead  the  soul  upward  to  the  gods,  and 
having  exalted  it  as  far  as  possible,  we  ally  it  with  the  gods. 

But  you  ask,  "Why  of  names  that  are  significant,  do  we 
place  foreign  ones  before  those  of  our  own  language?"!  The 
reason  for  this,  also,  is  connected  with  the  Mystic  Rites.  For 
the  gods  have  made  known  that  of  the  Sacred  Nations,  like 


*In  other  words,  we  comprehend  first  principles  by  simple  intuition. 

fThis  was  called  a  visible  manifestation  of  divinity.  A  philosopher 
remarks:  "From  the  clearness  of  the  mind  and  the  refulgence  of  divine 
splendor,  the  presence  of  Divinity  is  perceived  at  once. 

JAs  Assyria  is  the  chief  Semitic  country,  the  languages  of  Chaldasa 
and  the  Israelites  are  included  under  the  designation.  But  whatever 
his  dialect  Abammon  declares  that  Man  is  sacred  everywhere.  V, 
xxiv.  There  is  a  change  of  terms,  however,  in  the  question  from  those 
found  in  the  Letter  of  Porphyry  to  Anebo,  as  will  be  seen  by  comparing. 


THE    TERMS    OF   NATIONS  245 

the  Egyptians  and  likewise  the  Assyrians,  the  entire  dialect  is 
suitable  for  sacred  places.  Hence,  we  believe  that  we  ought  to 
address  our  communications  in  speech  native  to  thejgods ;  and 
because  such  a  mode  of  speaking  is  primitive  and  ancient, 
and  most  of  all,  as  those  who  learned  the  first  terms  relating 
to  the  gods,  mingled  them  with  their  own  language  and  trans- 
mitted it  to  us,  as  being  proper  and  suitable  for  these  things, 
we  have  always  preserved  the  law  of  tradition  till  the  present 
time  inviolate.  For  whatever  else  pertains  to  the  gods,  plainly 
the  everlasting  and  unchangeable  is  kindred  to  them. 

WHY  FOREIGN  SACRED  TERMS  MAY  NOT   BE   TRANSLATED. 

It  is  then  objected :  "If  the  one  who  hears  the  voice  gives 
attention  to  the  signification,  it  is  enough  that  the  concept  re- 
mains the  same,  whatever  the  term  may  be."  The  fact,  how- 
ever, is  not  as  thou  imaginest.  For  if  terms  had  been  fixed  by 
conventional  agreement,  it  would  make  no  difference  if  some 
should  be  used  instead  of  others.  But  if  they  are  closely  allied 
#  together  in  the  nature  of  the  things  that  have  being,*  those  the 
more  like  it  will  be  most  assuredly  the  more  agreeable  to  the 
gods.  From  this  fact  it  appears  agreeable  to  reason  that  the 
language  of  the  sacred  nations  has  been  adopted  in  preference 
to  that  of  the  rest  of  mankind.  For  terms  when  they  are  trans- 
lated do  not  always  preserve  their  meaning  the  same  as  before ; 
and  besides,  there  are  certain  idioms  with  every  nation  that  are 
impossible  to  express  to  another  in  intelligible  speech.  Ac- 
cordingly, though,  it  may  be  possible  to  translate  them ;  they 
no  longer  preserve  the  same  force.  " Foreign  terms,' ■  like- 
wise, have  great  emphasis  and  much  conciseness,  and  contain 
less  ambiguity,  diversity  and  varied  shades  of  meaning.  For 
all  these  reasons  they  suit  the  Superior  Races. 

Away,  then,  with  conjectures  which  deviate  from  the  truth : 
such  as  this,  whether  "the  divinity  that  is  invoked  is  Egyptian 

*Proklos  considered  that  there  were  three  classes  of  divine  terms: 

the  principal  of  which  was  for  the  gods  themselves:  the  second  was 

devised  for  the  demons,  and  the  third  was  employed  by  sagacious  men 

in  relation  to  matters  of  their  own  devising.    The  former  of  these  were 

yc  considered  as  possessing  energy  and  power. 


246  THE  EGYPTIANS  AND   THE   GODS 

in  race  or  makes  use  of  the  Egyptian  language."  Understand 
instead  that  the  Egyptians  were  the  first  of  mankind  that  were 
allotted  to  communion  with  the  gods;*  and  the  gods  that  are 
invoked  delight  in  the  Egyptian  customs. 

Suppose,  then,  "these  are  all  of  them  artful  contrivances 
of  jugglers, ' '  how  is  it  possible  that  these  things  without  which 
no  sacred  performance  takes  place  successfully,  which  in  the 
highest  degree  conjoin  us  with  the  gods,  and  combine  us  with 
them,  and  which  possess  powers  almost  equal  to  those  of  the 
superior  races,  should  be  only  figments  of  the  imagination? 
On  the  other  hand,  is  it  not  true  that  "these  are  disguises  that 
have  their  origin  in  the  passive  conditions  about  us  through 
being  attributed  to  the  divine  agency?"  For  it  is  not  from 
what  we  have  experienced,  but  on  the  contrary,  from  what  are 
peculiar  attributes  of  the  gods,  that  we  are  aroused  and  ad- 
dress to  them  naturally  the  expressions  proper  for  them.  Nor 
do  we  form  "conceptions  of  the  divine  nature  contrary  to  ivhat 
it  actually  is."  On  the  other  hand,  wherein  it  is  natural,  and 
as  they  who  first  established  the  laws  of  holy  religious  worship 
have  come  upon  the  truth  respecting  it,  so  we  continue  in  them. 
For  if  anything  of  different  customs  of  a  religious  character 
harmonizes  with  them,  it  is  what  does  not  change.  And  it  is 
necessary  with  the  ancient  prayers  as  with  the  sacred  places 
of  asylum  to  preserve  them  inviolate  and  in  the  same  manner, 
neither  taking  anything  from  them  nor  adding  anything  to 
them  from  any  other  source.!    For  this  is  perhaps  the  reason 

*The  extraordinary  antiquity  of  the  Egyptians  and  their  modes  of 
worship  is  everywhere  recognized.  They  were  an  archaic  people  and 
were  highly  civilized  when  they  first  became  known  to  other  nations. 

fProklos  speaks  of  these  prayers  as  follows:  "The  purifying  petition 
is  the  one  which  is  offered  for  the  purpose  of  averting  diseases  of  the 
character  of  plague,  and  other  contagions:  we  have  such  inscribed  in 
the  temples."  Porphyry  has  preserved  a  petition  somewhat  like  one  in 
the  Gospel  according  to  Luke.  "0  Lord,  the  Sun  and  you  other  di- 
vinities, the  dispensers  of  life  to  human  beings,  accept  me  and  commend 
me  to  the  immortal  gods  as  your  servant.  So  long  as  I  have  lived  I 
have  always  worshipped  the  gods  whom  my  parents  taught  me  should 
be  venerated." 

After  the  adoption  of  the  Bacchic  rites  from  Asia  into  Greece,  the 
prayers  or  hymns  to  the  new  divinity  were  as  numerous  and  almost  as 


THE    GEEEKS  CHANGEABLE  2 IT 

why  at  the  present  time  everything  is  going  to  decay,  and  both 
the*  occult  terms  and  the  prayers  have  become  without  effi- 
ciency. They  are  constantly  undergoing  changes  through  the 
innovating  disposition  and  the  lawlessness  of  the  Greeks,  and 
nothing  remains  as  it  was.  For  the  Greeks  are  by  nature  fond 
of  innovation,  and  they  are  carried  onward  rushing  eagerly  in 
every  direction.  They  have  no  ballast  in  them  and  they  do  not 
preserve  what  they  received  from  anybody;  but  letting  it 
quickly  go,  they  remodel  everything  according  to  a  never-ceas- 
ing fluency  of  words.  But  the  foreign  priests  are  steadfast  in 
their  customs,  and  continue  firmly  with  the  same  words ;  for 
which  reason,  making  use  of  the  words  grateful  to  them,  they 
are  themselves  beloved  by  the  gods.  Nevertheless,  to  change 
them  in  any  way  is  not  lawful  for  any  human  being. 

This  much  we  have  answered  thee  in  regard  to  the  words 
which  are  called  both  unutterable  and  barbarous*  or  foreign, 
and  yet  are  becoming  in  holy  rites. 


diverse  as  the  States.    The  worshippers  were  principally  women  and  the 

Eleans  had  a  shout  of  which  this  is  a  translation: 

"Come  Lord  Dionysos,  Lord  Most  High, 
Into  thy  holy  shrine,  the  shrine  ready  for  thee : 
Frenzied,  and  with  feet  of  ox, 
Bull  worthy  of  our  praise,  worthy  Bull." 
"Hero,"  here  rendered  Lord,  and  Alioun,  Most  High,  are  archaic 

terms. 

♦The  term  barbarous,  used  in  Greek  for  alien  and  foreign,  seems  to 
have  been  formed  from  the  Egyptian  term  Barbara,  the  archaic  designa- 
tion of  the  Egyptian  peasantry. 


xvx 

QUESTIONS    PROPOSED 


PART  VIII 

< 

CHAPTER  XVI 

QUESTIONS  PROPOSED 

We  will  now  pass  over  these  matters,  as  thou  sayest  that 
thou  desirest  us  4 '  to  declare  plainly  what  the  Egyptian  Theoso- 
phers  believe  the  First  Cause  to  be:  whether  Mind  or  above 
Mind:  and  whether  one  alone  or  subsisting  with  another  or 
with  several  others:  whether  unbodied  or  embodied,  and 
whether  the  very  same  as  the  Creator  of  the  Universe  (Demiur- 
gos)  or  prior  to  the  Creator:  also  whether  all  things  have  their 
origin  out  from  one  or  out  from  many :  whether  they  likewise 
have  knowledge  respecting  Primal  Matter,  or  of  what  nature 
the  first  bodies  were:  and  whether  the  Primal  Matter  was 
unoriginated  or  was  generated." 

First  of  all  I  will  tell  thee  the  reason  why  in  the  scrolls 
of  the  ancient  Scribes  of  the  Temple,  many  and  various  opin- 
ions are  offered  in  regard  to  these  things,  and  likewise  why 
among  those  of  the  persons  greatly  skilled  who  are  still  living, 
the  explanation  is  not  given  in  simple  terms.  I  say,  then, 
that  as  there  are  many  essences  and  these  differing,  the  innu- 
merably many  principalities  of  these  being  in  different  orders, 
were  handed  down,  different  ones  by  different  ancient  priests. 

Hence,  as  Seleukos*  describes,  Hermes  set  forth  the  uni- 
versal principles  in  two  thousand  scrolls,  or  as  Manetho  af- 
firms, he  explained  them  completely  in  thirty-six  thousand 


*Seleukos  is  mentioned  by  Porphyry  as  a  theologist  and  by  Suidas 
as  having  written  two  hundred  books  in  relation  to  the  gods.  By 
"scrolls"  it  is  probable  that  only  single  discourses  were  meant,  such  as 
would  now  be  given  in  a  pamphlet. 

251 


252  THE  ABSOLUTE 

five  hundred  and  twenty-five  treatises*.  The  different  ancient 
writers,  however,  being  in  conflict  with  one  another,  have  in 
many  places  given  different  interpretations  in  regard  to  the 
particular  essence.  It  is  necessary,  however,  to  ascertain 
the  truth  in  respect  to  them  all,  and  then  set  it  forth  to  thee 
concisely  as  we  may  be  able. 

First,  then,  give  me  thy  attention  in  regard  to  this  matter 
about  which  thou  didst  first  ask. 

GOD  THE  FIRST:   GOD  THE  CREATOR. 

Before  the  things  that  really  are,  even  the  first  principles 
of  all  things,  is  One  Divine  Being,  prior  even  to  the  first  God 
and  King,  abiding  immovable  in  the  aloneness  of  his  own 
absolute  unity.  For  neither  is  Intelligence  nor  any  principle 
else  intermingled  with  him,  but  he  is  established  an  exemplar 
of  the  God  self-begotten,  self-produced  and  only-begotten,  the 
One  truly  Good.  For  he  is  the  something  Absolutely  Great 
and  Supreme,  the  Source  of  all  things,  and  root  of  the  first 
ideals  subsisting  in  the  Supreme  Mind.  Then  from  this  One, 
the  God  sufficient  in  himself  caused  himself  to  shine  forth:! 
and  hence  he  is  self-engendered  and  self-sufficient.  For  he 
is  the  Beginning  and  God  of  Gods,  a  unity  proceeding  from 
the  One,  subsisting  before  essence,  and  the  principle  of  es- 
sence. For  from  him  are  being  and  essence ;  and  he  is  called 
accordingly  Noetarch,  Chief  of  the  realm  of  thought.! 


*An  Egyptian,  Man-e-Thoth,  or  beloved  Thoth.  He  was  a  priest  at 
Sebennytus  in  the  province  of  Sais,  in  the  reign  of  Plotemy  Philadelphos, 
and  compiled  a  history  of  ancient  Egypt.  This  Number  36,525  is  enig- 
matic, as  it  indicates  by  its  analogy  to  the  365.25  days  in  a  vear. 

fThe  Hindu  purana  gives  a  similar  statement:  "He  whom  mind 
alone  can  perceive,  whose  essence  eludes  the  external  organs,  who  has  no 
visible  parts,  who  is  of  eternity, — even  He,  the  Soul  of  all  beings,  whom 
no  being  can  comprehend,  shone  forth  in  personality.  He  willed  to  pro- 
duce the  various  beings  from  his  own  divine  substance." 

J"Under  two  Minds,"  says  Damaskios,  "the  Life-imparting  fountain 
of  souls  is  comprehended."  One,  the  Immovable  First  Cause,  the  Second, 
the  Demiurgos  or  Creator. 


MANY   NAMES  2o3 

These,  then,  are  the  oldest  principles  of  all  things.  Hermes* 
places  them  before  the  gods  of  the  iEther,  the  Empyreanf 
and  the  celestial  regions. 


MANY  NAMES  OF  GOI>— FORMATION  OF  MATTER. 

According  to  another  arrangement,  however,  Hermes 
places  the  God  Emepht  as  leader  of  the  celestial  divinities, 
and  declares  that  he  is  Mind  itself,  perceptive  of  itself  and 
converting  the  perceptions  into  his  own  substance.  But  he 
places  as  prior  to  this  divinity,  the  One  without  specific  parts, 
whom  he  affirms  to  be  the  first  exemplar§  and  whom  he  names 


*See  Part  I,  Chapter  II.  Hermes  the  superlatively  Great,  was  the 
titular  author  of  numerous  philosophic  treatises,  from  the  forty-two  men- 
tioned by  Clement  to  the  innumerable  multitude  mentioned  by  others. 

fThe  Greek  term  ifuzvQiov (empurion) ,  signifies  "the  region  of  fire." 
In  the  ancient  cosmology,  there  was  a  fifth  element,  the  aether,  more  pure 
and  divine  than  the  common  atmosphere.  It  was  an  akaslia,  a  pure  fire 
and  diviner  matter:  and  of  it  the  celestial  bodies  were  composed.  In  the 
Babylonian  and  other  theories  there  were  three  heavens,  as  here  desig- 
nated: the  aether-heaven,  the  Empyrial  or  'fire-region,  and  the  supra- 
celestial  above  all.  There  were  divinities  of  the  second  order  peculiar  to 
each. 

%  Several  have  conjectured  that  this  name  should  have  been  "Kneph" 
— Neph  or  Num,  the  "Good  Demon."  This  was  the  name  of  the  Creator 
in  Nubia  and  also  in  Elephantina,  and  he  was  considered  to  be  the  same 
as  Amun,  the  Supreme  God  at  Thebes.  The  name  Neph,  almost  identi- 
cal with  the  Semitic  term  "nephesh,"  or  soul,  reminds  us  that  this  god 
was  considered  as  the  "Soul  of  the  World."  It  should  also  be  remem- 
bered, however,  that  the  name  "Emeph"  seems  to  be  the  same  as  Imoph, 
Motph  or  Imhetep,  which  signifies  the  "son  of  Phtha."  In  fact,  this 
divinity  was  one  of  the  triad  of  tutelaries  of  Memphis,  which  consisted 
of  Phtha,  his  consort  Pakht,  or  Bast,  and  their  son  Imhetep.  Mariette- 
Bey  considered  him  as  the  same  as  Thoth  or  Hermes,  the  god  of  learn- 
ing. The  Greeks,  however,  identified  him  with  Asklepios  and  the  Orien- 
tals with  Esmun,  of  the  Kabeirian  Rites. 

§Ficino  substitutes  the  term   naQa&Eiypa  (paradeigma),  or  exemplar 
in  the  text,  for  fidyevfia  (mageuma) ,  or  magic  power. 


254  THE    CREATIVE    MIND 

Eikton.*  In  him  are  the  First  Mind  and  the  First  Intelli- 
gence, and  he  is  worshiped  by  Silence  alone. t  Besides  these, 
however,  there  are  other  leaders  that  preside  over  the  creation 
of  visible  things. \  For  the  Creative  Mind,  guardian  of  Truth 
and  wisdom,  coming  to  the  realm  of  objective  existence,  and 
bringing  the  invisible  power  of  occult  words  into  light  is  called 
in  the  Egyptian  language,  Amon  (the  Arcane) :  but  as  com- 
pleting everything  in  a  genuine  manner  without  deceit  and 
with  skill,  Phtha.  The  Greeks,  however,  assume  Phtha  to  be 
the  same  as  Hephaestos,  giving  their  attention  to  the  Creative 
art  alone.§  But  as  being  a  dispenser  of  benefits,  he  is  called 
Osiris  :| |  and  by  reason  of  his  other  powers  and  energies,  he 
has  likewise  other  appellations. 


*This  term  is  Greek,  and  its  meaning  is  "the  Likeness,"  and  so  the 
Ideal  of  the  Universe. 

fDamaskios  relates  that  the  Babylonians  recognized  the  one  First 
Cause,  passing  it  over  in  silence.  But  it  is  probable  that  instead  of  Sige 
or  Silence,  the  divine  intermediary,  Siku,  was  the  being  actually  named. 

\Plato:  TimoEos,  XII,  v,  "The  Deity  himself  formed  the  divine  part 
in  man,  and  delivered  over  to  his  celestial  offspring  the  task  of  forming 
the  mortal.  These  subordinate  divinities,  copying  the  example  of  their 
parent,  and  receiving  from  his  hands  the  immortal  principle  of  the 
human  soul,  fashioned  subsequently  to  this  the  mortal  body,  which  they 
consigned  to  the  soul  as  a  vehicle,  and  in  which  they  placed  another  kind, 
of  soul,  the  seat  of  violent  and  fatal  affections/' 

§The  Semitic  name  P'T'H,  Phtha,  signifies  the  opener,  the  revealer, 
the  Creator.  Perhaps  Semitic  influence  in  Northern  Egypt,  which  was 
of  remote  antiquity,  accounts  for  the  selection  of  the  designation.  When 
the  early  sovereignty  of  Egypt  was  at  Memphis,  Pth'ch  was  the  chief 
divinity.  After  the  expulsion  of  the  Hyksos  dynasty,  the  seat  of  power 
was  transferred  to  Thebes  in  the  South,  and  Amun  or  Amur-Ra  (the 
Mystic  Sun)  was  exalted  to  the  supremacy.  He  was  often  figured  like 
Kneph,  with  the  head  of  a  ram,  indicating  that  the  two  were  the  same. 
Indeed,  the  Egyptian  religion  was  actually  at  its  core  monotheistic.  The 
various  divinities  were  only  aspects  or  personifications  of  different  attri- 
butes. 

1 1  This  name  in  the  Egyptian  dialect  is  variously  spelled,  as  different 
readers  supply  the  letters  from  the  hieroglyphics.  Plutarch  states  that 
the  Egyptians  pronounced  it  Husiris,  and  it  is  sometimes  rendered  Asar 
and  Uasar.  One  Egyptian  dogma  makes  it  out  Hes-iri,  which  would  mean 
the  Seat  of  Isis.  It  seems  in  its  form  to  resemble  Assur  the  God  of  Nine- 
veh and  Iswara,  the  Siva  of  India. 


SUPREME    CAUSE  255 

Accordingly  there  is  also  with  the  Egyptians  another  sov- 
ereignty of  all  the  elementary  principles  in  relation  to  the 
realm  of  generation,  and  of  the  forces  in  them.  Four  of  them 
are  reckoned  as  male  and  four  as  female.  This  sovereignty 
they  assign  to  the  Sun.  There  is  also  another  empire  of  uni- 
versal production  around  the  dominion  of  objective  existence, 
which  they  give  to  the  Moon.  Then  marking  off  the  sky  into 
two  parts,  or  four,  or  twelve,  they  place  rulers  over  the  parts 
in  turn,  more  or  fewer  as  the  case  may  be,  and  over  them  all 
they  set  one  who  is  the  Overlord.*  Thus  the  system  of  the 
Egyptian  priests  in  relation  to  the  First  Principles,  extend- 
ing from  above  to  the  farthest  extremes,  begins  from  the  One 
and  passes  on  to  the  multitude :  the  many  being  guided  and 
directed  by  the  one,  and  the  undefined  realm  of  nature  being 
placed  under  a  defined  measure  of  authority,  even  of  the  one 
Supreme  Cause  of  all  things.  And  the  God  produced  Matter, 
rending  materiality  on  the  under  side  from  essentiality; 
which  being  full  of  life,t  the  Creator  took  it  and  fashioned 
from  it  the  simple  and  impassive  spheres.  But  the  last  of  it 
he  organized  into  bodies  that  are  subject  to  generation  and 
dissolution. 

SUMMARY  OF  TEACHINGS. 

These  subjects  have  now  been  thoroughly  discussed,  and  in 
the  books  which  thou  mentionest  as  having  met  with  by  chance, 

*This,  it  will  be  noticed,  relates  directly  to  astrology  and  the  casting 
of  nativities,  which  was  a  constituent  part  of  former  sciences  and  relig- 
ions, and  is  apparent  in  some  of  the  modern  customs. 

fWhen  we  treat  of  matter,"  says  Plutarch,  "we  need  not  conceive  in 
our  minds  a  body  void  of  soul  and  of  all  quality  and  of  itself  wholly  idle 
and  inactive.  We  ought  to  conceive  that  this  goddess  (or  divine  entity) 
which  always  participates  of  the  First  God  and  is  ever  taken  up  with  the 
love  of  those  excellences  and  charms  that  are  about  him  is  not  by  nature 
opposite  to  him:  that  like  a  good-natured  woman  that  is  married  to  a 
man  and  constantly  enjoys  his  embraces,  yet  hath  a  fond  kind  of  longing 
after  him,  so  hath  she  always  a  strong  inclination  to  the  God,  though 
she  be  present  and  round  about  him,  and  though  she  be  impregnated  with 
his  most  prime  and  pure  particles." 


256  CAUSES    AND    PRINCIPLES 

the  solution  of  thy  doubts  is  clear.  For  those  which  have  been 
brought  forward  as  the  Books  of  Hermes  contain  Hermetic 
doctrines,  although  they  are  often  set  forth  in  the  manner  of 
speaking  peculiar  to  the  (Grecian)  philosophers.  For  they 
were  translated  from  the  Egyptian  language  by  men  who  were 
skilled  in  philosophy.  But  Chseremon*  and  others,  if  there 
are  any,  who  have  treated  of  the  primary  causes  in  relation 
to  the  world,  also  explain  the  last  principles.!  As  many  as 
hand  down  observations  respecting  the  planets,  the  Zodiac, 
the  decans,  the  horoscopes  and  the  ''Mighty  Leaders,"!  so 
called,  make  known  the  distribution  of  the  rulers  to  their 
respective  domains.  The  particulars  that  are  mentioned  in 
the  calendars  comprise  a  very  small  part  of  the  Hermaic 
arrangement,  and  those  in  relation  to  the  stars  (or  asterisms) 
or  the  phases,  or  occultations,  or  the  increase  or  decrease  of 
the  Moon,  are  among  the  last  things  in  the  delineations  of 
causes  by  the  Egyptian  sages. 

The  Egyptian  priests  do  not  "explain  everything  as  relat- 
ing to  natural  objects."  On  the  contrary  they  distinguish  the 
life  of  the  soul,  and  also  the  spiritual  principle,  from  Nature 
itself,  not  only  in  respect  to  the  universe,  but  also  in  respect 


♦Chseremon  was  the  Scribe  or  literary  man  of  a  Temple.  Suidas 
mentions  him  as  belonging  in  Alexandria,  and  both  Martial  and  Por- 
phyry speak  of  him  as  a  Stoic  philosopher.  He  is  quoted  in  Josephus, 
as  giving  the  account  of  the  Expulsion  of  the  Lepers  or  alien  people 
from  Egypt,  whom  Manetho  conjectured  to  have  been  the  Israelites. 

fThe  twelve  months  were  divided  by  astrologers  into  thirty-six  decans, 
and  over  each  was  a  decanus  or  episcopus,  whose  office  was  to  protect 
against  calamity.  The  "horoscopos"  was  the  caster  of  a  nativity,  one  who 
forecasted  a  career  from  the  conditions  of  the  planets  and  zodiacal  con- 
stellations at  the  time  of  birth. 

JThe  Twelve  Gods  who  preside  over  the  months  of  the  year  are  thus 
designated.  "While/'  says  S.  F.  Dunlap,  "the  Babylonians  offered  sacri- 
fices to  the  spirits  of  the  dead,  and  the  Twelve  Gods  presided  over  the 
months,  and  Che  thirty-six  gods  over  the  decani  of  the  calendar;  while 
Gods  innumerable,  portents,  prophets,  soothsayers  and  astrologers  per- 
plexed the  people,  the  Chaldeans  philosophized  in  their  schools  on  the 
causes  of  things  and  the  modus  operandi  of  Nature  and  Creation." 


PURE    MIND  257 

to  ourselves.  Regarding  it  as  firmly  established  that  the  Mind, 
and  likewise  the  reasoning  faculty,  have  being  by  themselves, 
they  affirm  that  the  things  that  are  born  are  created.  They 
likewise  place  the  Creator  as  First  Ancestor  of  those  in  the 
realm  of  generated  existence,*  and  they  acknowledge  the  life- 
imparting  power  prior  to  the  heaven  and  subsisting  in  the 
heaven.  They  likewise  set  forth  Pure  Mind  as  above  the 
world,  and  also  the  One  without  specific  parts  in  the  universal 
world,  and  another  that  is  distributed  among  all  the  spheres. t 
They  do  not  by  any  means  contemplate  these  things  with 
the  reasoning  faculty  alone,  but  they  also  teach  that  by  means 
of  the  sacerdotal  theurgy,  the  aspirant  may  mount  up  to  the 
higher  and  more  universal,  and  those  conditions  established 
superior  to  Fate,  to  God  the  Creator  (Demiurgos) :  neither 
becoming  attached  to  the  realm  of  matter,  nor  taking  hold  of 
anything  else  besides  only  the  observing  of  a  proper  time.! 


PRELUDE  TO  FURTHER  EXPLANATIONS. 

Hermes  also  points  out  the  same  path.    Bitys,  a  prophet, 
explained  it  to  King  Amasis,§  having  found  it  inscribed  in 


*Chrerem6n  declared  the  Sun  to  be  the  Creator  or  Demiurgos.  The 
vivific  influences  emanating  from  it,  and  the  fact  that  the  planetary 
world  issued  from  it  in  the  unknown  periods  of  geologic  antiquity,  lend 
an  air  of  plausibility  to  the  hypothesis. 

fit  was  taught  by  Anaximander  that  the  earth  was  in  the  centre  of  a 
series  of  concentric  spheres  in  which  the  sun,  moon  and  stars  were  placed. 
The  Pythagoreans  held  that  the  heavenly  bodies  were  in  these  spheres 
revolving  round  a  central  fire. 

Jin  astrologic  and  other  magic  displays  it  is  considered  necessary  to 
select  carefully  a  proper  time  for  consultation  and  ceremonies. 

§Amasis  or  Aahmes  II,  was  the  successor  of  Apries  or  Pharaoh- 
Hophra,  of  the  Twenty-sixth  Dynasty,  whom  he  drove  from  power.  He 
belonged  at  Sais  and  bore  the  title  of  "Son  of  Neith."  He  obliged  the 
priests  of  Egypt  to  admit  Pythagoras  and  Solon  to  the  temples  to  be  in- 
structed in  the  Egyptian  learning.  Bitys  is  conjectured  to  have  been 
the  priest  Utaharpenses,  who  made  public  the  names  of  the  planets, 
which  had  been  a  sacerdotal  secret,  as  was  also  the  heliocentric  theory. 


258  MANY    ESSENCES 

hieroglyphics  in  the  inmost  shrine  at  Sais  in  Egypt.*    He  also 
divulged  the  name  of  the  god  that  extends  through  the  whole 

world.f 

There  are  also,  however,  many  other  arrangements  in  rela- 
tion to  the  same  things.  Hence  thou  dost  not  seem  to  me  to 
be  right  in  saying  that  with  the  Egyptian  priests  all  things 
are  carried  back  to  physical  categories.  For  in  their  system, 
principles  are  many  and  concern  many  essences.  There  are 
likewise  supermundane  potentates  whom  also  they  worshiped 
by  the  Sacerdotal  rite.  To  me,  therefore,  these  things  appear 
to  furnish  common  starting-points  for  the  solution  of  all 
remaining  enquiries.  But  since  we  ought  to  leave  none  of 
them  without  examination,  we  will  add  them  to  these  problems, 
and  likewise  hammer  round  them  on  all  sides  in  order  that  we 
may  see  where  thou  conjecturest  that  there  is  anything  un- 
sound. 

THE  TWO  SOULS  OF  MAN. 

Thou  also  affirmest  "that  very  many  of  the  Egyptians 
attribute  to  the  motion  of  the  stars  whatever  may  happen  to 


*Sais  was  the  metropolis  of  a  nome  or  principality  in  Northern 
Egypt,  and  a  rival  of  Memphis  in  wealth  and  importance.  Its  prince, 
Tafnekht,  famous  for  having  cursed  the  memory  of  Menes,  raised  the 
standard  of  revolt  against  the  Ethiopian  Overlord,  and  his  lineal  de- 
scendant Psametikhos  finally  succeeded  in  delivering  Egypt  from  the 
Assyrians  and  establishing  the  Twenty-sixth  Dynasty  with  Sais  as  his 
capital.  Neitha  was  the  chief  divinity,  and  in  her  temple  were  recorded 
many  of  the  maxims  of  Bokkoris  the  Wise.  Here  was  the  inscription  so 
commonly  referred  to  Isis, — doubtless  the  same  goddess:  "I  am  the  All 
that  was,  that  is  and  will  be,  and  no  mortal  hath  revealed  me." 

fThe  tutelary  gods  had  secret  names  which  it  was  regarded  as  sacri- 
lege to  divulge.  (See  Exodus  xx,  7 ;  Judges  xiii,  18.)  "The  arcane  names 
fill  the  whole  world"  was  a  theurgic  maxim.  Proklos  also  remarks: 
"There  is  a  sacred  name  which,  with  sleepless,  dart-like  motion,  runs 
through  the  worlds,  through  the  swift  menace  of  the  Father/'  Whether 
the  name  which  Bitys  revealed  was  occult  like  the  mystic  designation  of 
Yava  in  the  Semitic  nations,  is  worth  enquiry.  The  designation,  Amun, 
for  example,  only  means  arcane  or  concealed,  implying  that  it  was  not 
regarded  as  the  real  name  of  the  divinity. 


TWO    SOULS  259 

us."  But  what  the  fact  is  must  be  explained  to  thee  by  many 
of  the  Hermaic  concepts.* 

For  man,  as  these  writings  affirm,  has  two  souls.  The 
one  is  from  the  First  Intelligence  and  is  participant  of  the 
power  of  the  Creator,  but  the  other  is  given  from  the  revolu- 
tions of  the  worlds  of  the  sky,  to  which  the  God-beholding 
soul  returns.! 

These  things  being  conditioned  after  this  manner  the  soul 
that  comes  into  us  from  the  worlds  follows  (and  is  affected 
by)  the  periodic  circuits  of  those  worlds.  But  the  soul  that 
is  in  its  higher  mental  quality  from  the  world  of  Intelligence, 
is  superior  to  the  movement  of  the  world  of  generated  exis- 
tence! and  through  this  there  takes  place  both  the  unbinding 
of  fate,  and  the  upward  progress  to  the  gods  of  the  World  of 
Mind.  The  theurgic  discipline  (or  initiation),  so  far  as  it 
conducts  upward  to  the  Unbegotten,  is  made  complete  by  a 
life  of  this  kind. 

LIBERATION  FROM  FATE. 

That  condition,  therefore,  about  which  thou  utterest  doubt, 
does  not  exist,  namely:  "That  all  things  are  bound  fast  in  the 


*These  were  the  propositions  and  theories  put  forth  by  various 
authors  whose  writings  were  indicated  in  the  collection  known  as  "Books 
of  Hermes,"  or  Tablets  of  Thoth. 

fPlutarch  says:  "They  who  imagine  the  mind  to  be  part  of  the  soul 
err  no  less  than  they  who  make  the  soul  a  part  of  the  body:  for  the 
mind  is  as  far  superior  to  the  soul  as  the  soul  is  better  and  diviner  than 
the  body.  The  combination  of  the  soul  with  the  mind  makes  the  logos 
or  reasoning  faculty,  and  with  the  body,  passion,  of  which  the  latter  is 
the  principle  of  pleasure  and  pain,  and  the  former  of  virtue  and  vice. 
Of  these  three,  the  earth  has  given  the  body,  the  moon  the  Soul,  and  the 
Sun,  the  mind.  Every  one  of  us  is  neither  courage,  nor  fear,  nor  desire, 
no  more  than  flesh  or  fluids,  but  the  part  by  which  we  think  and  per- 
ceive. The  soul,  being  molded  and  formed  by  the  mind  and  itself  mold- 
ing and  forming  the  body,  by  encompassing  it  on  every  side,  receives  from 
it  impression  and  form." 

Plato  in  the  Timceos  likewise  treats  of  the  two  souls  or  parts  of  the 
soul,  the  one  mortal  and  the  other  immortal. 

JThis  phrase  which  translated  literally  would  read  "genesiurgic  mo- 
tion," relates  to  those  matters  of  the  world  of  sense,  which  are  under  con- 
trol of  fate  and  circumstance,  and  come  within  the  province  of  chance 
and  fortune. 


260  THAT    WHICH    IS 

indissoluble  bonds  of  Necessity,  which  they  term  Fate."  For 
the  soul  has  a  principle  of  its  own  leading  around  to  the  realm 
of  Intelligence,  and  not  only  standing  aloof  from  things  of 
the  world  of  generated  existence,  but  also  joining  it  to  that 
which  is,*  even  to  the  divine  nature. 

Nor  do  we  "  connect  Fate  with  the  gods  whom  we  worship 
in  temples  and  with  carved  images,  as  being  unbinders  of 
Fate.  Yet  the  gods  do  "unbind  Fate,"  but  it  is  the  last  and 
lowest  natures  that  descend  from  them  and  are  in  close  alli- 
ance to  the  genesis  of  the  world  and  to  the  body,  that  make 
Fate  complete.  With  good  reason,  therefore,  do  we  perform 
to  the  gods  every  holy  rite  in  order  that  they  may  deliver  us 
from  the  evils  impending  over  us  from  destiny,  as  they  alone, 
through  the  moral  power  of  persuasion,  have  rule  over  neces- 
sity. 

Nevertheless  all  things  in  the  world  of  Nature  are  not  con- 
trolled by  Fate.  On  the  contrary,  there  is  another  principle 
of  the  soul  which  is  superior  to  the  whole  realm  of  nature  and 
generated  existence.  By  it  we  can  be  united  to  the  gods,  rise 
above  the  established  order  of  the  world,  and  likewise  partici- 
pate in  the  life  eternal  and  in  the  energy  of  the  gods  of  the 
kighest  heaven.  Through  this  principle  we  are  able  to  set 
ourselves  free.  For  when  the  better  qualities  in  us  are  in 
activity,  and  the  soul  is  exalted  to  those  beings  superior  to 
itself,  then  it  becomes  separate  altogether  from  every  thing 
which  held  it  fast  in  the  realm  of  generated  existence,  keeps 
itself  aloof  from  inferior  natures,  exchanges  one  life  for  the 
other,  and  gives  itself  to  a  different  order,  entirely  abandon- 
ing the  former. 

THE  LIBERATION  FURTHER  EXPLAINED. 

Why,  then  (it  may  be  asked),  is  it  not  possible  to  liberate 


♦This  phrase,  "that  which  is,"  is  very  significant.  It  transcends  the 
concept  of  existing  and  denotes  real  being,  eternity  itself.  This  shows 
the  true  meaning  of  Pope's  declaration:  "Whatever  is  is  right/'  The 
Sanskrit  term  Satya,  often  rendered  "truth,"  has  exactly  the  sense  of 
Being,  that  which  is  enduring  and  permanent,  absolute  fact.  Hence  the 
maxim :  "There  is  no  dhcirma  or  supreme  law  superior  to  that  which  is." 


NUMEROUS    ESSENCES  261 

one's  own  self  through  the  gods  that  revolve  in  the  sky  (the 
ruling  planets),  to  consider  them  as  Lords  of  Destiny,  and  also 
as  binding  our  lives  with  bonds  that  are  not  to  be  dissolved? 

Perhaps  there  is  nothing  to  hinder  this  very  thing.  Al- 
though the  gods  possess  numerous  essences  and  powers  in 
themselves,  there  are  also  inherent  in  them  as  many  imprac- 
ticable differences  and  contradictions.  Nevertheless,  it  is  law- 
ful to  affirm  as  much  as  this:  that  in  every  one  of  the  gods, 
especially  of  those  that  are  visible  (in  the  sky),  there  are  prin- 
ciples of  essence  which  are  of  the  world  of  Intelligence;  and 
that  through  these,  takes  place  the  release  for  souls  from 
generated  existence  in  the  world. 

But  although  there  were  to  be  two  classes  of  divine  beings 
left,  the  gods  that  abide  around  the  world,  and  those  beyond, 
there  will  be  liberty  for  souls  through  the  gods  above  the 
world.  These  things  are  told  more  precisely  in  the  "Treatise 
Concerning  the  Gods"* — as  for  example,  who  are  the  restorers, 
and  what  are  their  powers;  and  also  how  do  they  liberate 
from  fate,  and  through  what  sacred  paths  upward;  also  of 
what  quality  is  the  arrangement  of  the  mundane  realm  of 
nature,  and  how  does  the  absolutely  perfect  moral  energy  rule 
over  it?t  Hence  the  passage  which  thou  hast  repeated  from 
the  Homeric  poem — ' '  even  the  gods  themselves  are  yielding, ' ' 
it  is  a  profanation  to  utter.  For  the  performances  at  the 
Sacred  Worship  in  ancient  times  were  prescribed  by  laws 
that  were  both  pure  and  spiritual.  Those  who  are  in  inferior 
conditions  are  liberated  by  a  superior  order  and  power;  and 
when  we  remove  ourselves  from  conditions  that  are  inferior 


*This  work  is  lost.  It  was  an  explanation  of  the  Pythagorean  Sym- 
bology,  and  is  quoted  by  Damaskios  and  Olympiodoros.  Proklos  restores 
6ome  of  the  passages  in  his  treatise  upon  the  Platonic  Theology,  and  also 
adopts  the  arguments.  At  the  change  of  the  Imperial  Religion  in  the 
Fourth  Century  the  books  of  the  Philosophers  were  ordered  to  be  de- 
stroyed on  pain  of  death,  and  doubtless  this  work  perished  at  that  period. 

fin  the  divine  world,  ntiesis  is  poiesis — thinking  is  doing.  What 
"God  says"  God  is  doing.  All  things  are  subject  to  mind,  and  to  its  be- 
hests.   Mind,  therefore,  is  the  king  of  all  things. 

It  was  a  theurgic  saying,  that  by  chants  and  sacrifices  it  was  possible 
to  revolutionize  the  realms  of  nature  and  generation. 


262  SOULS    EETURN 

we  come  into  a  better  allotment.  It  is  not  effected,  however 
contrary  to  any  sacred  ordinance  that  has  existed  from  ancient 
times,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  imply  that  the  gods  may  be 
changed  (in  disposition  or  purpose)  by  sacred  rites  after- 
ward performed.  On  the  contrary,  from  their  first  descent 
till  this  present  time  God  sent  down  the  souls  in  order  that 
they  should  return  back  again  to  him.*  Never,  therefore, 
does  there  a  change  occur  by  such  a  progress  upward,  nor  do 
the  descents  of  the  souls,  and  their  ascending  occasion  violent 
conflict.  For  as  generated  existence  and  every  thing  here  are 
joined  together  at  every  point  by  the  spiritual  essence,  so  also 
in  the  arrangement  of  souls,  the  liberation  from  the  condi- 
tions of  generated  existence  accords  with  the  diligence  of 
those  around  the  realm  of  generated  existence. 


*There  has  been  a  great  variety  of  opinion  in  regard  to  the  descent 
of  the  soul.  The  book  of  Ecclesiastes  has  the  sentence,  "and  the  spirit  to 
the  God  who  gave  it."  Nobody  has  said  that  it  had  been  sent  into  per- 
petual exile.  The  Chaldean  Oracle  declared  "The  Father  placed  symbols 
in  the  souls,"  by  which  their  identification  is  assured.  When  the  Creator 
sends  out  a  soul,  he  also  calls  it  to  himself  again.  The  circle  of  neces- 
sity will  return  upon  the  Infinite.    Such  is  the  teaching  of  all  philosophy. 


XVII 
THE  PERSONAL  DEMON 


PART   IX 

NATIVITIES  AND  GUARDIAN  DEMONS 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  PERSONAL  DEMON 

Come,  then,  let  us  now  endeavor,  so  far  as  we  are  able,  to 
straighten  the  complicated  problem  in  respect  to  the  personal 
demon,  which  is  likewise  made  the  theme  for  various  objec- 
tions. So,  therefore,  to  speak  plainly,  the  treatment  of  the 
subject  in  respect  to  the  personal  demon  is  twofold,  theurgic 
and  technic :  the  one  evoking  him  from  the  categories  above, 
and  the  other  from  the  visible  periods  in  the  world  of  gen- 
erated existence.  The  former  makes  no  use  of  the  art  of  cast- 
ing nativities,  but  the  latter  is  devoted  to  such  pursuits.  The 
former  pays  honor  to  the  demon  more  generally  as  superior 
to  the  province  of  nature,  but  the  latter  specifically  as  pertain- 
ing to  the  realm  of  nature  altogether.  Hence  thou  seemest  to 
have  brought  down  strangely  the  most  perfect  sacred  perform- 
ance to  regard  as  a  mere  human  affair,  and  to  have  put  thy 
questions  upon  this  subject  as  in  a  gymnastic  exercise. 

MODE  OF  QUESTIONING  CRITICIZED. 

So  then,  thou  appearest  to  me  to  have  cut  off  here  only  a 
very  small  part  of  the  statement  in  relation  to  the  personal 
demon.     For  it  is  the  custom  of  those  who  work  by  the  rules 

265 


266  THE    PERSONAL    DEMON 

of  the  art  of  vaticination  in  respect  to  the  time  of  birth*  to 
summon  him  in  a  prescribed  form  from  the  dekans  and  the 
risings  of  the  constellations  of  the  zodiac  and  likewise  the 
stars;  the  sun  also  and  the  moon,  and  from  the  Bearsf  and 
likewise  from  all  the  elements^  and  from  the  world.  It  is  not 
fair  for  thee  thus  to  parcel  out  one  very  small  part  of  the  sub- 
ject, "the  Lord  of  the  House, "§  and  put  questions  simply  in 
regard  to  that. 

Here,  in  turn,  thou  askest  in  relation  to  one  single  subject 
under  consideration  (the  personal  demon),  "how  the  Lord  of 
the  House  assigns  it:  according  to  ivhat  purpose,  or  what 
quality  of  emanation,  or  life,  or  power,  comes  from  it  to  us." 
Thou  also  puttest  the  question  in  regard  to  "the  calculating 
of  nativities,  whether  it  (the  demon)  actually  exists,  or  not," 
and  in  regard  to  the  finding  of  the  Lord  of  the  House, 
"whether  it  is  impossible  or  possible."  What  importance 
have  these  questions  about  the  domination,  in  relation  to  the 
demon?  For  it  is  evident  that  our  knowing  as  to  how  he  ex- 
ists makes  no  difference  in  regard  to  such  matters  as  his 
essence  and  cause.    For  in  respect  to  things  having  an  origin 


*Greek,  <pvoiq,  phusis.  This  term  has  a  wide  signification.  It 
strictly  means  the  passive  or  material  principle,  the  originating  power  of 
the  universe :  but  from  that  it  has  been  used  to  denote  the  constitution  of 
things,  the  peculiarity  of  sex,  the  bent  of  disposition,  etc.  Our  author 
here  employs  the  term  as  the  female  agency  in  production,  contrasting  it 
with  the  genesis.  It  thus  signifies  "birth"  and  has  been  rendered  accord- 
ingly. 

fit  has  been  remarked  as  an  argument  against  the  genuineness  of  this 
sentence,  if  not  of  the  entire  book,  that  the  Egyptian  astrologists  did  not 
have  the  Great  and  Little  Bear  in  their  planisphere.  Iamblichos,  how- 
ever, was  a  Syrian  and  conversant  with  Chaldean  and  Grecian  learning. 
Heiodotos  names  the  Bear  as  a  northern  constellation.    See  1, 148 :  V,  10. 

JThis  term  has  a  somewhat  indefinite  signification.  It  is  supposed 
accordingly  by  some  to  denote  in  this  connection  the  planets,  and  by 
others,  the  signs  in  the  zodiac. 

§Every  sign  of  the  zodiac  was  considered  to  have  a  "house"  for  its 
"lord,"  or  ruling  planet.  In  the  Gospel  according  to  Matthew  a  pun 
seems  to  be  made  on  the  term.  "If  they  call  the  lord  of  the  house  Beel 
Zebul."    This  last  name  signifies  "lord  of  the  house." 


FATE  267 

in  the  realm  of  nature,  even  though  we  do  not  chance  to  know, 
it  happens  all  the  same,  that  all  and  each  of  them  have  their 
own  stability  of  essence  in  the  universe.  Thus,  therefore,  we 
will  meet  thy  difficulties  generally;  but  we  will  direct  our 
attention  specifically  to  what  thou  askest  and  endeavor  in 
respect  to  them  to  give  thee  the  solutions. 

FATE  AND  THE  PERSONAL  DEMON. 

Thou  also  declarest  that  "the  person  who  has  learned  the 
scheme  of  his  nativity,  and  so  knowing  his  own  demon,  is  lib- 
erated from  fate,  is  truly  favored  by  divinity."  Thou  dost 
not  seem  to  me,  however,  to  be  saying  these  things  altogether 
in  harmony,  either  with  themselves  or  with  the  truth.  For  if 
the  demon  has  been  assigned  to  us  from  the  scheme  of  nativity, 
and  we  may  find  him  from  that,  how  are  we  released  from  fate 
through  the  knowledge  that  the  demon  was  given  to  us  accord- 
ing to  fate?  But  if,  as  thou  dost  declare,  we  are  really  set  free 
from  necessity  through  the  demon,  how  was  it  allotted  to  us 
by  Fate? 

Hen^e  the  things  now  uttered  by  thee  not  only  conflict  with 
themselves,  but  they  are  also  at  variance  with  the  truth ;  seeing 
that  the  personal  demon  does  not  by  any  means  come  to  every 
one  by  the  scheme  of  his  peculiar  nativity.  On  the  other  hand, 
its  origin,  which  we  will  hereafter  set  forth,  was  older  than 
this.  If,  therefore,  the  demon  that  comes  down  should  be  con- 
templated alone  from  that  source,  the  individual  who  attained 
a  knowledge  of  the  demon  of  his  nativity,  would  by  no  means 
be  happy  or  fortunate.  Who,  indeed,  if  in  this  case  it  were 
permitted  to  him,  in  order  that  he  might  accomplish  the  allot- 
ments from  fate,  would  consent  to  receive  the  demon  as  a  guide 
to  liberation  from  fate?  Yet  this  appears  to  me  as  a  part  of 
the  theory  respecting  the  demon,  and  to  be  the  last  of  the 
kind,  but  that  the  whole  of  his  essence  is  passed  over  in  silence 
by  such  a  mode  of  investigation.  Yet  these  things,  although 
they  are  incorrectly  stated,  are,  nevertheless,  not  utterly  for- 
eign to  the  subject. 

The  doubts,  however,  which  thou  bringest  out  in  their 


2G8  THE  AURA  OF  THE  STARS 

order,  in  relation  to  "the  enumeration  of  the  Canons,"  and  in 
relation  to  "skill  in  calculating  nativities,"  that  they  are  "be- 
yond comprehension,"  do  not  involve  us  in  any  controversy 
in  relation  to  the  subjects  before  us.  For  whether  these  arts 
are  knowable  or  beyond  comprehension,  yet  the  aura  or  emana- 
tion from  the  stars  brings  the  demon  to  us,  whether  we  our- 
selves are  cognizant  of  it  or  not.  The  divine  oracular  art,* 
however,  can  teach  us  in  relation  to  the  stars  as  to  that  which 
is  the  truest,  and,  at  any  rate,  we  have  no  need  of  the  enumera- 
tion of  the  canons,  or  of  the  art  of  divining. 

ASTROLOGY  EXPLAINED. 

If,  however,  it  is  necessary,  when  dismissing  these  subjects, 
to  say  it,  thou  dost  not  seem  to  me  right  in  what  thou  affirmest, 
namely:  That  it  is  impossible  for  expertness  in  astral  observa- 
tions] to  amount  to  any  actual  knowing,  for  there  is  great  dis- 
agreement in  relation  to  it,  and  because  Chceremon  or  some- 
body else  has  spoken  against  it."  Indeed,  by  this  mode  of 
argument  reasoning  will  be  beyond  comprehension.  For  all 
the  sciences}  have  tens  of  thousands  of  persons  disputing,  and 
the  matters  of  doubt  in  them  have  been  innumerable.  Hence, 
therefore,  we  are  accustomed  to  say  in  opposition  to  those  who 
are  fond  of  disputing,  that  contradictory  things  create  dissen- 
sion even  in  things  that  are  actually  true,  and  that  falsities  are 
not  alone  in  fighting  one  another.  So,  also,  in  regard  to  the 
mathematical  science  [astrology],  we  may  not  only  affirm  that 


♦Ficino  renders  this  term  "divine  inspiration"  in  this  place  where 
it  is  contrasted  with  the  art  of  casting  nativities. 

f Greek,  /la-d'rjfiaxiH^  imoTrjpr},  mathematical  episteme,  literally, 
skill  in  mathematics.  But  at  the  time  when  this  work  was  written  the 
term  "mathematics"  was  employed  to  denote  astrology,  and  accordingly 
it  is  so  rendered. 

{Greek,  ijiiOTrffiai,  epistemai.  This  term  properly  denotes  knowl- 
edges of  a  superior  character,  which  are  comprehended  by  the  noetic  in- 
telligence, instead  of  the  dianoetic  reasoning  faculty.  Hence  it  signifies 
what  is  above  the  common  arts  which  are  learned  and  classified,  and  so 
constitute  what  is  in  modern  times  designated  "science"  and  "exact 
science." 


ASTROLOGY  269 

it  is  true,  but  also  that  those  who  err  in  respect  to  it  contradict, 
knowing  nothing  in  respect  to  the  things  that  are  really  true. 
This  happens,  however,  not  only  in  relation  to  this  science,  but 
also  in  relation  to  all  the  sciences  which  are  delivered  from  the 
gods  to  human  beings.  For  as  time  is  always  going  on,  they 
are  often  intermingled  with  much  that  is  of  mortal  origin,  and 
the  divine  character  of  the  knowledge  becomes  greatly  oblit- 
erated. It  is  truly  within,  however,  and  though  scanty,  this 
sure  evidence  of  the  truth  is  nevertheless  effectual  for  its 
preservation.  When  the  signs  of  the  measurement  of  the  revo- 
lutions of  the  divine  ones  are  clearly  evident  before  the  eyes, 
when  they  indicate  beforehand  the  eclipses  of  the  sun  and 
moon,  the  enterings  of  the  sun  into  the  signs  of  the  zodiac,  and 
departures  out  of  them,  and  the  concurrent  risings  and  settings 
of  the  moon  with  those  of  the  fixed  stars,  the  proof  of  actual 
sight  is  manifested  agreeing  with  the  prediction.  And  what 
is  more,  the  observations  of  the  heavenly  bodies  which  have 
been  preserved  through  all  the  period,  both  by  the  Chaldeans* 
and  by  ourselves,  bear  witness  together  to  the  truth  of  this 
Science. 

Demonstrations  better  known  than  these  might  be  exhibited, 
if  the  discourse  had  been  primarily  upon  these  subjects.  Nev- 
ertheless, as  they  are  superfluous,  and  do  not  pertain  to  the 
recognition  of  the  demon,  it  is  proper  that  I  leave  them  out, 
and  pass  on  to  matters  more  appropriate  than  these. 

THE  PERSONAL  DEMON  NOT  DISCOVERED  BY  ASTROLOGY. 

In  thy  epistle  thou  makest  this  statement :  ' '  The  assump- 
tion of  the  Lord  of  the  House  (or  Lords  of  the  House,  if  there 
are  more  than  one)  pertaining  to  a  nativity,  is  almost  con- 
fessed by  astrologers  themselves  to  be  beyond  absolute  prov- 

*The  iE'on,  or  period,  was  reckoned  as  three  hundred  thousand  years. 
Proklos,  in  his  Commentary  on  the  Timceos,  states  that  the  Chaldeans  had 
records  of  observations  of  the  stars  which  embraced  entire  cosmic  cycles 
of  time.  Cicero,  in  his  treatise  on  Divination,  declares  that  they  had 
records  of  the  stars  for  the  space  of  370,000  years;  and  Diodoros  the 
Sicilian  asserts  that  their  observation  comprehended  470,000  years.  As 
great  antiquity  was  also  claimed  for  the  Egyptians.  Kallisthenes  when 
in  Babylon  sent  the  computations  of  the  Chaldeans  to  his  uncle  Aristotle. 


270  THE  LORD  OF  THE  HOUSE 

ing;  and  yet  it  is  from  this  assumption,  they  say,  that  the 
ascertaining  of  one's  own  personal  demon  is  possible."  How 
is  the  knowing  of  the  Lord  of  the  House  to  be  acknowledged 
by  them  to  be  beyond  comprehending,  when  they  deliver  clear 
methods  in  relation  to  its  discovery,  and  likewise  teach  thor- 
oughly the  elementary  principles  for  the  determining  of  the 
disputed  matters;  some  five,  others  more,  and  others  fewer?* 
However,  in  order  that  we  may  get  beyond  this,  let  us  proceed 
to  examine  a  matter  of  more  importance,  the  contingent  at- 
tributes of  both  sides  of  the  question.  For,  if  it  is  possible  to 
discover  the  Lord  of  the  House  pertaining  to  the  nativity,  the 
demon  that  has  been  assigned  from  it  is  also  knowable ;  and  if 
the  matter  is  out  of  reach,  then,  according  to  this  hypothesis, 
we  do  not  know  him.  Nevertheless,  as  there  is  a  Lord  of  the 
House,  there  is  also  a  demon  that  has  been  assigned  from  him. 
What  hinders,  then,  that  while  it  may  indeed  be  difficult  to 
discover  him  through  the  calculating  of  the  nativity,  it  may  be 
easy  to  perceive  him  by  means  of  sacred  divination  or  theurgy? 
In  short,  the  demon  is  not  assigned  by  the  Lord  of  the  House 
only,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  many  origins  for  him 
more  universal  than  by  the  Lord  of  the  House,  f  Still,  how- 
ever, such  a  method  introduces  an  artificial  and  human  proce- 
dure in  regard  to  the  personal  demon.  Hence  in  these  difficul- 
ties which  thou  hast  suggested  there  is  nothing  wholesome. 

TRUE  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  GUARDIAN  DEMON. 

If,  however,  it  is  necessary  to  reveal  to  thee  the  true  doc- 
trine in  relation  to  the  personal  demon  let  me  say  this :  It  is 
not  from  one  part  in  the  sky,  nor  from  any  individual  element 


*"We  say,"  says  Hephaestion  of  Alexandria,  "that  a  star  which  has 
five  conditions  anywhere  in  sight  is  a  Lord  of  the  House :  in  other  words, 
if  that  star  received  the  luminaries  in  their  own  boundaries,  their  own 
altitude,  and  their  own  triangle."  He  adds  this  condition :  "if  besides  it 
has  contiguity,  emanation  and  configuration." 

f According  to  the  Egyptian  notion,  every  person  received  his 
guardian  demon  at  the  hour  of  birth,  and  they  looked  no  further.  They 
regarded  only  the  horoscope. 


THE    LEADER  271 

of  the  objects  that  are  visible,*  that  he  is  assigned  to  us.  But 
there  is  from  the  whole  world  and  the  various  kinds  of  life  in 
it,  and  the  various  kinds  of  body  by  which  the  soul  comes 
down  into  the  realm  of  generated  existence,  an  allotted  por- 
tion, all  our  own,  divided  among  us  to  each  of  the  distinctive 
qualities  in  us,  which  distribution  is  made  according  to  the 
ruling  disposition  of  each  individual. 

This  demon,  therefore,  is  present  as  exemplarf  before  the 
souls  descend  into  the  realm  of  generated  existence.  As  soon 
as  the  soul  chooses  him  for  leader}  the  demon  immediately 
comes  into  charge  of  the  completing  of  its  vital  endowments, 
and  when  it  descends  into  the  body,  unites  it  with  the  body,  and 
becomes  the  guardian  of  its  common  living  principle.  He  like- 
wise himself  directs  the  private  life  of  the  soul,  and  whatever 
the  conclusions  we  may  arrive  at  by  inference  and  reasoning, 
he  himself  imparts  to  us  the  principles.  We  think  and  do  just 
such  things  as  he  brings  to  us  by  way  of  thought.  He  guides 
human  beings  thus  continually  till  through  the  sacred  theurgic 
discipline  we  shall  obtain  a  god  to  be  guardian  and  leader  of 
the  soul.  For  then  he  gives  place  to  the  superior,  or  delivers 
over  the  superintendence,  or  becomes  subject,  as  a  tributary,  to 
him,  or  in  some  other  way  is  servant  to  him  as  to  an  Overlord. § 

ONE  GUARDIAN  DEMON  ONLY  TO  AN  INDIVIDUAL. 

From  these  facts  I  may  easily  reply  to  your  next  question. 
For  the  personal  demon  does  not  "preside  over  specific  re- 
gions in  us,"  but  simply  over  all  at  once.    He  pervades  every 


*Greek,  axoi^EXov  stoicheion.  In  later  centuries  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  this  term  was  used  to  signify  planets  and  signs  of  the  zodiac. 

fin  other  words  the  ideal  or  divine  model  after  which  the  soul  takes 
earthly  form. 

JPlato  :  Republic.,  X.  Plato  has  outlined  no  distinction  beyond 
choosing  a  mode  of  living,  but  here  it  is  affirmed  that  the  soul  chooses  a 
demon  of  a  superior  order  by  its  own  intelligent  volition. 

§One  writer  remarks:  "A  demon  is  placed  with  every  human  being  to 
be  his  initiator  into  the  mysteries  of  life." 


272  GUAEDIANS 

principle  about  us,  in  the  same  manner  as  it  was  assigned  from 
all  the  orders  [of  intelligence]  in  the  universe.  For  it  also 
seems  proper  to  thee  to  remark  as  follows :  ''That  there  are 
demons  placed  over  specific  departments  of  the  body,  one  over 
health,  one  over  the  figure,  and  another  over  the  bodily  habits, 
forming  a  bond  of  union  among  them,  and  that  one  is  placed 
as  superior  over  all  of  them  in  common."  This  very  thing 
thou  shouldst  consider  as  proof  that  the  authority  over  every- 
thing in  us  is  vested  in  one  demon  alone.  Accordingly  it  is  not 
right  to  define  "one  demon  as  guardian  of  the  body,  another  of 
the  soul,  and  another  of  the  mind."  For  if  the  living  person 
is  one  individual  and  the  demon  manifold  that  is  placed  over 
him,  the  notion  is  absurd.  Certainly  the  ruling  powers  every- 
where are  single  rather  than  those  that  are  ruled.  But  it  is 
still  more  absurd  if  the  many  demons  ruling  over  special  de- 
partments are  not  akin,  but  are  to  be  classified  apart  from  one 
another. 

Thou  also  declarest  that  there  are  contradictory  charac- 
ters among  them,  saying  that  "some  demons  are  good  and 
others  bad."  Evil  demons  have  no  allotment  whatever  as 
guardians,  and  they  are  never  classified  in  opposition  to  the 
good,  like  one  party  against  another,  as  though  having  equal 
importance. 

THE  GUARDIAN  DEMON  NOT  A  "PART  OF  THE  SOUL." 

Having  in  succession  abandoned  these  points,  thou  goest 
quickly  over  to  the  conjecture  of  the  (Grecian)  philosophy; 
yet  in  relation  to  the  personal  demon  thou  overturnest  the 
entire  hypothesis.  For  if  the  demon  is  "a  part  of  the  soul," 
as,  for  instance,  the  spiritual  or  intellectible,*  and  "he  who 
has  a  mind  imbued  with  good  sense  is  the  truly  favored  one," 
there  will  be  no  other  order  of  beings,  divine  or  demonian, 
assuming  authority  over  the  human  soul  as  being  superior  to 
it.    Instead,  there  will  be  special  parts  of  the  soul,  or  some 


*Maenander  says :   "The  mind  is  our  demon."     The  term  was  used 
with  a  variety  of  meanings  at  different  times. 


THE    LORD    OF    THE    DEMONS  273 

power  existing  separately  supreme  over  the  many  forms  of  the 
life  within  us ;  and  these,  not  as  allied  by  nature,  but  as  hav- 
ing been  set  apart  as  superior  in  their  nature  to  our  entire 
substance. 


SEVERAL  GUARDIAN  DEMONS. 

After  this  thou  callest  to  mind  another  statement  in  rela- 
tion to  the  personal  demon,  namely:  that  "some  persons  per- 
form worship  as  to  two,  and  others  as  to  three  of  this  class." 
This,  however,  is  all  erroneous.  For  the  classifying  of  the 
superior  causes  that  are  placed  over  us  instead  of  including 
them  in  one,  is  a  fallacious  way  of  proceeding,  and  it  goes  com- 
pletely astray  from  the  unity  which  holds  dominion  in  every- 
thing. The  doctrine  which  apportions  the  demon  into  parts 
in  the  body,  or  in  the  governing  of  the  body,  drags  down  its 
leadership  to  a  very  small  point.  What  necessity,  in  such  case, 
for  those  who  entertain  such  an  opinion,  to  regard  sacred  rites, 
the  first  principle  of  them  being  unsound? 

There  is,  accordingly,  one  personal  guardian  demon  for 
every  one  of  us.  It  is  not  right  to  assume  that  it  is  common 
to  everybody,  or  that  it  is  common  at  all,  but  only  that  it  is 
present  with  every  individual  as  his  own.  For  a  distribution 
to  every  species,  and  the  diversity  existing  in  the  realm  of  mat- 
ter, do  not  admit  of  the  union  and  identity  of  things  essentially 
incorporeal. 

Why  is  it,  then,  that  the  demon  "is  invoked  by  all  with  a 
common  form  of  invocation ' '  f  It  is  because  their  invocation  is 
made  through  one  divinity,  the  Lord  of  the  demons  who  from 
the  beginning  assigned  to  every  one  his  personal  demon.* 
Even  now  also  at  the  sacred  rites  he  makes  known  to  all  and 
each  their  personal  demons,  according  to  his  own  purpose. 
For  always  in  the  theurgic  arrangement,  the  secondary  are  in- 
voked through  the  superior  divinities.    In  respect  to  the  de- 


*This  seems  to  be  at  variance  with  Plato,  who  says:  "The  demon  will 
not  receive  you  as  his  allotment,  but  you  shall  choose  the  demon:  the 
cause  is  in  him  who  makes  the  choice,  and  the  Deity  is  blameless." 


274  THE    PERSONAL   DEMON 

mons,  therefore,  one  common  leader  of  the  cosmocrators,*  in 
respect  to  the  nativity,  sends  down  to  each  and  all,  his  personal 
demon.  Hence  when  the  personal  demon  is  present  he  makes 
known  his  own  proper  worship  and  teaches  the  proper  mode 
by  which  he  is  to  be  invoked. 

ABOUT  THE  INVOKING  OF  GUARDIAN  DEMONS. 

This  arrangement  is  also  acceptable  to  the  demons.  One 
part  of  it  is  akin  to  the  demons  that  are  invoked:  another 
comes  down  from  the  more  ancient  categories :  and  the  third 
makes  a  joint  action  from  both  the  others.  Do  not,  therefore, 
liken  the  invocations  of  gods  with  those  to  men,  nor  things  not 
to  be  uttered  with  those  that  may  be  told ;  and  do  not  compare 
the  things  that  are  prior  to  every  limitation  and  every  unde- 
fined mode,  to  those  that  have  been  defined  by  men  or  with 
indefinite  arrangements.  For  these  things  that  belong  with 
us  have  nothing  in  common  with  those  who  are  wholly  superior 
to  us  in  their  entire  race  and  order  and  rule  the  whole  of  our 
essence  and  nature. 

Nevertheless,  right  here  especially,  the  greatest  failures 
occur  to  men  when  from  human  weakness,  they  infer  anything 
in  relation  to  the  guardianship  of  the  demons :  and  when  with 
things  that  are  trivial,  worthy  of  nothing,  and  in  parts,  they 
form  a  judgment  of  beings  that  are  great,  noteworthy  and 
perfect. 

This  much  we  answer  you  in  respect  to  the  personal  demon 
in  addition  to  what  was  said  before. 


*Rulers  of  the  cosmic  world :  the  demons  allotted  to  the  several  regions 
of  the  universe.  The  term  occurs  in  the  Pauline  Epistle  to  the  Ephe- 
sians,  vi,  12. 


XVIII 
EUD^EMONIA,  OR  THE  TRUE  SUCCESS 


PART  X 

THE  FIRST  CAUSE 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

EUD^MONIA,  OR  THE  TRUE  SUCCESS 

The  last  subject  remaining  for  discussion  is  in  relation  to 
true  success.*  Thou  hast  put  intricate  problems  with  regard 
to  it,  namely:  first,  observations  upon  certain  subjects:  next, 
matters  of  doubt :  and  after  these,  questioning.  We  will  ac- 
cordingly place  thy  questions  in  their  order,  each  and  every 
one  of  them,  and  will  answer  these  in  due  course  in  reference 
to  them. 

Thou  askest ' '  whether  there  is  not  some  other  path  to  true 
success  apart  from  the  gods."f  What  different  way  upward 
can  there  be,  "entirely  apart  from  the  gods"  that  is  reason- 
able ?  For  if  the  essence  and  perfection  of  every  good  are  com- 
prised in  the  gods,  and  their  primary  power  and  authority  are 
with  us  ( priests ),t  and  with  those  who  are  in  like  manner  pos- 
sessed by  the  superior  divinities,  and  have  come  genuinely  into 
union  with  them — and  in  short,  if  the  source  and  end  of  good- 
ness are  earnestly  pursued :  in  such  case,  there  are  present  ac- 
cordingly, the  Spectacle  of  Truth  and  the  initiation  into  spirit- 


*Greek,  evdccuovia  eudaimonia.  This  term  was  employed  by 
Plato  and  Aristotle  to  denote  true  and  complete  happiness.  Its  derivation 
from  eu,  or  well,  and  dadmon,  a  divinity,  a  good  genius,  good  fortune,  in- 
dicates its  true  signification,  as  the  condition  favored  by  the  good  genius ; 
hence,  it  denotes  felicity,  good  fortune,  prosperity,  success — as  being  in 
favor  with  God  and  man. 

f  Porphyry  here  refers  to  the  gods  that  were  invoked  in  the  theurgic 
rites. 

| The  Oracle  had,  before  the  time  of  Porphyry,  assigned  to  the  Egyp- 
tian priests  the  finding  of  the  path  to  felicity.  Hence  Herodotos  declared 
them  the  first  to  institute  the  Sacred  Rites. 

277 


278  CRITICISM 

ual  knowledge.  And  with  the  knowing  of  the  gods,  the  turning 
around  to  our  own  selves  and  the  knowing  of  ourselves  follow 
together. 

VARIOUS  STATEMENTS  CRITICISED. 

To  no  purpose,  therefore,  thou  proposest  the  doubt 
" whether  it  is  necessary  to  pay  any  regard  to  human 
opinions. ' '  For  what  leisure  has  the  person  whose  mind  and 
thought  are  with  the  gods  to  look  down  for  approval  from 
human  beings?  Nor  in  what  follows  dost  thou  speak  to  the 
purpose :  "whether  the  Soul  does  not  now  and  then  form  grand 
conceptions."  For  what  principle  of  fanciful  creations  has  a 
place  in  those  who  have  real  being?  Is  not  the  faculty  of 
imagination  in  us  the  former  of  eidolaf  But  when  the  spirit- 
ual life  is  perfectly  active,  there  is  nothing  of  the  imagination 
awakened.  Does  not  the  truth  in  its  essence  coexist  with  the 
gods?  At  least,  is  it  not  established  with  rational  principles 
harmoniously?  It  is  in  vain,  then,  that  thou  and  others  whis- 
per such  things. 

Nevertheless,  these  things  about  which  certain  mounte- 
bank priests  and  fortune-tellers  calumniate  those  who  minister 
at  the  worship  of  the  gods,  and  thou  hast  spoken  in  the  same 
way — are  none  of  them  at  all  connected  with  genuine  theology 
and  theurgy.  Yet  if,  in  some  way,  certain  things  of  such  a 
character  shoot  out  as  excrescences  beside  the  knowledges  of 
the  things  that  are  good,  as  evil  arts  sprout  up  with  other  arts, 
these  very  knowledges  are  actually  more  opposed  by  them  than 
anything  else.  For  that  which  is  evil  is  more  hostile  to  the 
good  than  to  that  which  is  not  good. 

CONCERNING  NATURAL  PRESENTIMENT. 

I  desire  after  this  to  go  curiously  over  other  remarks  which 
misrepresent  the  divine  foreknowledge.  Thou  comparest  with 
it ' '  other  methods  for  obtaining  premonitions  of  what  will  take 
place."  For  to  me,  although  a  certain  aptitude  of  nature  aids 
in  the  signifying  of  what  is  to  occur,  just  as  the  foreknowing 


SYMPTOMS  279 

of  earthquakes,  or  of  winds,  or  of  storms  happens  to  animals, 
it  does  not  seem  worthy  of  our  veneration.  For  such  an  in- 
born faculty  of  divining  accompanies  acuteness  of  sense — or 
sympathy,  or  some  other  commotion  of  the  natural  faculties, 
and  has  nothing  about  it  worshipful  and  supernatural.  Nor 
if  any  one  by  human  reasoning  or  systematic  observation  de- 
termines from  symptoms  those  things  of  which  the  signs  are 
indicative,  as  physicians  from  the  systole  of  the  pulse  prog- 
nosticate a  coming  fever,  he  by  no  means  appears  to  me  to 
possess  anything  honorable  and  good.  For  he  likewise  sets 
himself  to  it  humanly,  and  infers  logically  by  our  reasoning 
faculty  in  relation  to  things  which  confessedly  occur  in  the 
order  of  nature  and  he  makes  his  diagnosis  not  very  far  away 
from  the  corporeal  order  of  things.  Accordingly,  if  there  is 
in  us  any  natural  perception  of  the  future,  the  faculty  is  clearly 
shown  in  activity  as  in  everything  else,  but  in  having  this 
nothing  that  is  very  happy  is  possessed.  For  what  can  there 
be  of  the  qualities  implanted  in  us  by  nature  in  the  realm  of 
generated  existence  that  is  a  genuine,  perfect  and  everlasting 
benefit? 

THE   DIVINE  ENDOWMENT. 

The  divine  endowment  of  divination*  alone,  therefore,  be- 
ing conjoined  with  the  gods,  imparts  to  us  the  divine  life  and 
likewise  making  us  participants  of  the  divine  foreknowledge 
and  the  divine  thoughts,  renders  us  truly  divine.  It  causes 
us  to  be  genuinely  the  possessors  of  goodness,  because  the 
most  blessed  thought  of  the  gods  abounds  with  every  good. 
Hence,  "they  who  possess  the  endowment  of  divining,"  do  not, 
as  you  surmise,  " foresee  and  are  not  really  successful,"  for 
all  divine  foreknowledge  is  seemingly  good.  Nor  do  they 
' '  foresee  future  events,  and  not  know  how  to  make  use  of  the 
foresight  properly  for  themselves."     On  the  contrary,  with 


*Greek,  fiavTiKrj,  mantike,  the  art  of  divining;  prophecy,  inspira- 
tion. This  is  the  term  which  has  been  generally  translated  as  divination. 
But  divination  as  described  by  Grecian  writers  was  the  same  as  prophecy, 
and  implied  intimate  communion  with  divinity. 


280  SUCCESS 

the  foreknowledge,  they  receive  beauty  itself  and  order  that 
are  at  once  true  and  becoming,  and  there  is  with  it  that  which 
is  profitable.  For  the  gods  give  them  also  the  power  of  pro- 
tecting themselves  against  direful  calamities  from  the  realm 
of  nature:  and  when  it  is  necessary  to  exercise  courage  and 
the  uncertainty  of  the  future  contributes  to  this,  they  keep 
the  things  hidden  that  are  to  be,  in  order  to  make  the  soul 
better.  Yet  when  uncertainty  does  not  bring  any  help  for  this 
purpose,  and  the  foreknowledge  is  advantageous  to  souls,  for 
the  sake  of  saving  them  and  leading  them  upward,  then  the 
gods  implant  in  their  inmost  beings  the  foreknowledge  in- 
herent in  the  inspired  communications. 

THE   PATH   TO    TRUE    SUCCESS. 

But  why  am  I  prolonging  these  discourses?  I  have 
abundantly  shown  before  by  the  many  explanations  which  I 
have  made  in  them,  the  superiority  of  the  inspiration  over 
human  divination.  Better,  therefore,  is  what  you  ask  from 
us:  "To  make  plain  to  you  the  path  to  success,  and  in  what 
the  essence  of  it  consists."  For  from  this  the  truth  is  then  to 
be  found,  and  all  the  difficulties  may  thus  be  at  once  easily 
resolved.  I  say,  therefore,  that  the  divine  person  gifted  with 
intuition,  having,  in  a  former  condition  of  being,  been  partici- 
pant of  the  oneness,  by  the  spectacle  of  the  gods,  comes  at  a 
later  period  to  another  soul  (or  psychic  condition)  which  is 
adjusted  to  the  human  ideal  of  figure,  and  through  this  be- 
comes involved  in  the  bond  of  Necessity  and  Fate.*    Now  then 


*This  is  a  similar  account  of  that  given  by  Plato  in  the  Phcedros. 
The  souls  while  in  the  eternal  region  are  described  as  beholding  the  thea 
or  vision  of  the  gods,  and  accompanying  them  in  their  journey  in  their 
planetary  orbits  in  the  sky,  having  been  initiated  and  become  epoptai  or 
Beholders  of  the  Mysteries  of  that  world.  This,  the  philosopher  explains, 
was  "while  we  possessed  our  nature  in  its  entirety  and  did  not  suffer  the 
molestations  of  evil  which  were  awaiting  us  in  the  future  time,  when  we 
were  free  and  not  invested  with  the  body  to  which  we  are  bound  as  an 
oyster  to  the  shell."  After  this  came  the  "descent  into  the  realm  of 
generated  existence,"  and  investiture  with  the  "mortal  soul"  and  its  con- 
ditions. See  Timceos  and  Plutarch's  treatise  on  The  Face  in  the  Orb  of 
the  Moon,  28. 


THE  IDEAL  281 

it  is  necessary  to  consider  how  he  may  be  unloosed  and  set 
free  from  his  bonds.  There  is  no  other  way  except  the  know- 
ing of  the  gods.  For  the  ideal  of  success  is  the  apperceiving 
of  the  Good,  just  as  the  ideal  of  badness  happens  to  be  for- 
getting of  what  is  good  and  deceit  in  relation  to  what  is  bad. 
The  former,  therefore,  joins  with  the  Divine  nature :  but  the 
latter,  an  inferior  destiny,  is  inseparable  from  the  mortal.* 
The  former  seeks  the  intellectible  essences  by  the  sacred 
paths  :f  but  the  latter,  having  swerved  from  the  first  principles, 
yields  itself  to  the  measuring  out  of  the  ideals  of  the  corporeal 
environment.  The  former  is  the  knowing  of  the  Father:!  but 
the  latter  is  the  going  aside  from  him  and  a  forgetting  of  God, 
the  Father,  first  in  Essence  and  sufficient  for  himself.  The 
former  preserves  the  genuine  life  and  brings  it  back  to  its 
Father,  but  the  latter  brings  the  man  ruling  in  the  realm  of 
generated  existence  down  to  the  world  which  is  never  perma- 
nent but  always  changing. § 

Let,  then,  this  superior  path  to  true  success,  which  is  the 
spiritual  completing  of  the  union  of  souls  to  the  divine  nature, 
be  cognized  by  thee.    But  the  sacerdotal  and  theurgic  gift  of 


*Plato  :  Tliecetetos  84,  Solvates.  "It  is  not  possible  that  evil  should 
be  destroyed;  for  it  is  necessary  that  there  should  be  always  something 
contrary  to  good ;  nor  can  it  be  seated  among  the  gods,  but  of  necessity 
moves  around  this  mortal  nature  and  this  region.  Wherefore  we  ought  to 
fly  hence  as  quickly  as  possible ;  and  this  flight  consists  in  being  assimi- 
lated to  God  as  much  as  possible,  and  this  assimilating  is  the  becoming 
just  and  holy  with  wisdom." 

fBy  the  Sacred  or  hieratic  paths,  Abammon  evidently  means  the 
theurgic  discipline.  The  ancient  Oriental  faiths  all  made  the  service  of 
the  guru,  or  spiritual  teacher,  an  essential  in  the  matter  of  knowing  the 
truth. 

{Compare  Gospel  according  to  John,  xvii,  3:  "This  is  the  eternal 
life  (the  life  of  the  eternal  world),  namely:  that  they  know  thee  the  God 
only  true." 

§The  philosopher  Herakleitos  held  that  "change"  is  the  "only  per- 
sisting" condition  of  things.  He  taught  that  the  Supreme  Being  is  fire — 
not  mere  physical  heat,  but  an  getherial  principle;  and  that  it  acted  on 
matter  producing  motion  and  creative  activity. 


283  THE   GOOD 

true  success  is  called  the  Door*  to  the  Creator  of  the  Universe, 
or  Supreme  Goodness.  In  the  first  place  it  possesses  the  power 
of  chastity  of  soul  which  is  far  more  perfect  than  chastity  of 
the  body:  afterward,  the  preparing  of  the  understanding  for 
the  participation  and  visionf  of  the  Good  and  its  release 
from  everything  of  a  contrary  character :  and  after  these,  one- 
ness with  the  gods  the  givers  of  all  things  good. 

RETURN  OF  THE   SOUL  TO   DIVINITY. 

After  the  theurgic  discipline  has  conjoined  the  soul  in- 
dividually with  the  several  departments  of  the  universe,  and 
with  all  the  divine  powers  that  pervade  it,  then  it  leads  the 
soul  to  the  Creator  of  the  world,  places  it  in  his  charge,  and 
frees  it  of  everything  pertaining  to  the  realm  of  matter,  unit- 
ing it  with  the  Sole  Eternal  Reason  (Logos). 

What  I  am  saying  is  this :  That  it  unites  the  soul  individ- 
ually to  the  One,  Father  of  himself,  self -moving.  He  who  sus- 
tains the  universe,  spiritual,  who  arranges  all  things  in  order, 
who  leads  it  to  the  supreme  truth,  to  the  absolute,  the  efficient, 
and  other  creative  powers  of  God:  thus  establishing  the  the- 
urgic soul  in  the  energies,  the  conceptions  and  creative  quali- 
ties of  those  powers.  Then  it  inserts  the  soul  in  the  entire 
Demurgic  God. 

This,  with  the  Egyptian  Sages,  is  the  end  of  the  "  Return " 
as  taught  in  the  Sacred  Records. 

CONCERNING  "THE  GOOD." 

The  Good  itself,  they  consider  on  the  one  side  as  absolute 
Divinity,  the  God  subsisting  before  thought :  but  on  the  other 


*In  the  former  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  there  arose  a  teacher 
in  Persia,  who  was  designated  the  "Bab" — gate  or  door.  He  promul- 
gated a  mystic  doctrine  somewhat  in  analogy  to  that  of  the  Sufis,  with 
many  features  of  the  later  Platonism  and  Gnosticism  and  Parsisra.  He 
was  afterward  executed,  but  his  disciples  still  constitute  a  numerous  body. 

t  Greek  &e&,  thea,  a  vision,  contemplation.  The  term  is  used  to  sig- 
nify the  Spectacle  exhibited  at  Initiatory  Eites. 


THE  PURIFYING  OF  THE  SOUL  283 

as  human,  who  is  a  unity  with  him.  Bitys  has  explained  this 
from  the  Hermaic  Scrolls.  This,  therefore,  is  not  "passed 
over"  by  the  Egyptian  priests,  as  thou  dost  suggest,  but  is 
handed  down  by  them  in  a  style  worthy  of  the  divine  being. 
Nor  do  the  Theurgists  "call  upon  the  Divine  Mind"  in  rela- 
tion to  "trivial  matters,"  but  on  the  other  hand  it  is  in  regard 
to  matters  appertaining  to  the  purifying  of  the  soul,  its  release 
and  salvation.  Nor  do  they  "employ  themselves  diligently 
ivith  things  that  are  difficult:  but  of  no  use  to  human  beings"; 
but  on  the  contrary,  such  as  are  the  most  profitable  of  all  to 
the  soul.  Nor  are  they  imposed  upon  by  a  "vagabond"  demon, 
who  have  in  every  instance  not  only  contended  successfully 
with  the  deceitful  demonian  nature,  but  have  exalted  them- 
selves to  the  realm  of  mind  and  divinity. 


VALEDICTORY. 


These  many  things  we  have  answered  thee  as  we  best  were 
able  in  relation  to  the  doubts  and  difficulties  which  thou  hast 
discovered  in  relation  to  the  divine  art  of  divination  and  the- 
urgy. It  now  remains  with  the  end  of  these  discourses  that  I 
pray  the  gods  to  bestow  upon  me  and  thee,  the  unchanging 
safeguard  of  true  conceptions :  and  likewise  to  implant  in  us 
forever  the  everlasting  truth,  and  to  provide  for  us  a  partici- 
pation of  more  perfect  conceptions  in  relation  to  the  divine 
beings :  for  in  these  the  most  blessed  consummation  of  all 
things  good  is  set  before  us,  and  the  confirmation  of  the  hearty 
friendship  which  now  exists  between  us. 


FINIS 


Date  Due 


